If You Love Me
by xXxCrimsonXAshesxXx
Summary: Born from heirs of two powerful clans, Akira Miyuki bears the burden at twice the power. As her story is set into motion, who will she encounter? Who are her friends and which ones are her enemies? Torn between right and wrong, love and belief eventually she will have to choose. Brother, or brother? SasukexOCxItachi - HIATUS - sorry, no inspiration to write - NOT PERMANENT -
1. Prologue - If You Love Me

_If you love me: Prologue_

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_The girl and her sensei stood opposite each other, one of them out of breath, the other barely breaking a sweat. This was the start of a tragic story, torn between right and wrong, love and belief, brother and brother._

_"You're going to have to try harder than this if you want to win against Orochimaru, Akira." Itachi scolded me as he, for the fifth time that hour, pushed me onto the ground with a kunai against my neck._

_I rolled my legs up and kicked him in the stomach but he just jumped back and laughed._

_"Now, now, don't let your anger get the best of you. Your strength is indeed heightened when you are angry but that also means that your movements are not co-ordinated." _

_I sprang at him with my hand knife. _

_ "Ita-Sensei, didn't I tell you not to underestimate me? I've been holding back the whole time."_

_I grinned at him as I pushed back after he deflected my knife with his kunai. He did a few hand signs and out poofed a few more Itachis._

_ "Bunshin no Jutsu! You shouldn't disrespect your elders by underestimating them either, Aki-__**chan**__."_

_I dropped my knives into my pockets and did the tiger hand seal._

_ "Futon: Kaiten Shuriken!" I picked up my speed and used my chakra to cloak my appearance. Itachi smiled and activated his sharingan._

_As I slammed into him with my chakra blades he caught my knee that was trying to hit his chin and forced __**my**__ chin up to look at him, trying to catch me in his genjutsu. _

_ "You know sensei, you being the great and mighty Uchiha brother who slaughtered his clan; I thought you would have noticed that 'me' was a clone." I called out to him from the treetops. _

_Itachi looked at me as I leaped down toward him, my draconian wind chakra blade in hand, wielded in front of me ready to slice him._

_ "Well, well, well. You're smart enough to bind your eyes. I never thought you'd be able to think using that much of your brain." Itachi taunted as he dodged my attack._

_We both leapt up and clashed weapons, my sword against his two kunai._

_ "The only thing is," he continued, "Are you able to fight without using your eyesight?"_

_I smirked inwardly and smiled. He didn't know but I could still see through the bindings that I had tied around my eyes._

_ "You keep forgetting, Ita-sensei. I'm __**special**__, remember? Oh and by the way, I hope you don't mind but I copied you."_

_He looked at my confusedly for a second before his eyes widened in realization._

_ "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" I shouted as I threw my pin knife, which happened to be conveniently connected with a piece of thin wire, and followed it up with the flame attack._

_Itachi sighed. He was probably getting tired of this and wanted to end it._

_ "Sorry Akira," He dodged my attack but cursed when it started homing him, "It's lunch time and I know you're hungry." He stopped and turned around. _

_ "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu." He blew out a huge fireball and sent his attack colliding against mine, causing it to turn around and fly toward me._

_ "Before you go, Ita-sensei, I want to show you something." He quirked his eyebrows at me, gesturing for me to continue._

_ "I came up with a new jutsu and it just about owns your fire attacks!" I didn't dodge as the fire attack came closer to me. Instead, I linked my thumbs together and pulled my arms up in a protective stance. As the fireball came closer I threw my arms out in front of me._

_ "Suiton: Shunkan toketsu no jutsu!" I grasped the flames and they began to freeze. As the last flame froze out I dropped the huge ice shard on the ground._

_ "So, Ita-sensei, how do you like my instant freeze technique?"_


	2. Chapter 1 - If You Love Me

Chapter 1 - If you love me: You'll say hello

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

It was a cloudy morning and the sun had just begun to seep through the grey sky, through the window and into the Hokage's office. The Hokage himself was seated behind a large desk. In front of him were stacks of paperwork. He sweat-dropped, there was no way he could finish this all today.

"Kami, I wish something would come in and excuse me from this horrible paperwork!" He sighed then chuckled to himself. Like that was going to happen.

"If only Minato was here, he'd be the one doing this." Sarutobi sighed again and picked up his pen, ready to start working when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he called out, not letting any relief slip into his voice. The door opened and two jounin entered. One of them was carrying a small girl in his arms and the other was holding what seemed to be her bag.

The Hokage stood up from his seat and walked over to the girl. There were evident scars on her arms and legs, some still freshly bleeding.

"Hokage-sama, we found this girl in the forest outside the village. She wore no headband and we found no evidence of her being a ninja." The jounin carrying the girl told him.

"Very well, set her down on the chair and you two may leave. Don't worry about her bag; I will deal with whatever is inside it."

The two men bowed and set the girl and her bag down. They turned to leave but Sarutobi called out to them.

"And can you one of you go find Kakashi? I need to have a word with him." The two ninja nodded and left.

Sarutobi wondered back to his desk waiting for the girl to open her eyes.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Sarutobi nearly jumped from the sound of her voice. It was so… tired and worn out. It sounded so… emotionless.

The Hokage turned to look at the girl and was surprised at the softness of her features in comparison to her tone of voice.

"Child, you are in Konoha and I am the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. What is your name?" Sarutobi asked the small girl gently.

"…" she didn't reply to him. Sarutobi was about to ask her again when Kakashi poofed into the room. He was holding a scrambling yellow knucklehead.

"Yo, old man, you called? And I found this guy trying to paint faces on all the fruit in the market." The Hokage laughed at his comment then sobered.

"This girl was found in the forest outside of here with injuries and scratches all over her. She won't answer my questions either." The small girl scoffed and the two men turned to face her.

"What's the matte-" Kakashi was cut off by Naruto.

"Hey! What's your name? Do you like Ramen? Let's go eat some after this!" Naruto yelled while he jumped out of Kakashi's grip and peered at the strange girl.

She blinked in response to him and looked away. This caused Naruto to go into a rampage about how she should look at him while he is speaking.

"You know, you shouldn't disrespect me 'cause I'm gonna be the Hokage one day! Believe it!"

The small girl sighed and beckoned the Hokage closer with one finger. As he approached her, she reached into her bag and pulled out a folder. She handed it to him and he gasped in surprise.

"Hey isn't that a ninja file?" Kakashi questioned as he peered over the old man's shoulder.

"Naruto, why don't you take," Sarutobi peered into the file, "Akira-chan here for a tour of our village?"

Akira scowled at the honorific after her name but reluctantly got up to follow the hyperactive boy.

Kakashi opened the file and he and the Hokage looked through it.

Name: Akira Miyuki

Age: 12

Height: 161 cm (5"3)

Chakra Affinity: Wind, Fire and Water

Skill Level: Chuunin – Jounin

Clan: Miyuki and Leiko

Home Village: Village hidden in the Snow

DNA: #74538910436

Blood Type: AB-

Kakashi and the Hokage shared a glance. Blood type AB- and in the Miyuki clan? What was with all the information that had been rubbed out?

Meanwhile Akira POV

"So, so, so what happened? Why were you all scratched up? Come to think of it, how come you're all healed now?" Naruto had been enthusiastic the whole tour and I hadn't said a single word except for 'ch'.

Naruto was jumping up and down so fast he didn't notice that he was about to crash into someone. As the two people clashed, I had to hide a smile at the yellow-head's clumsiness.

"Watch where you're going, baka." Naruto jumped up and glared at the boy who had spoken.

"Who are you calling a baka, Sasu-gay?" He glared at the raven head harder. The other boy just scoffed and went to walk off.

"Wait Sasuke! I need to introduce you to someone! OI!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him to me.

"Akira meet Sasu-gay, Sasuke meet Akira." I sweat-dropped at his nickname for Sasuke as it was clear that Naruto was the one holding Sasuke's hand not vice-a-versa.

Naruto quickly let go of Sasuke's hand and growled at me. I just stared at him nonchalantly.

Sasuke hmpf'ed and crossed his arms. I got curious at his lack of words and looked up at his face. His eyes were just like mine. Pained, sad and emotionless at the same time.

But that wasn't what took my breath away. He resembled _him_ so much!

"U-U-Uchiha.." I whispered. He turned to look at me but I had already started running off. I jumped onto the roofs of the houses and headed to the Hokage's office. There was something I needed to tell him.


	3. Chapter 2 - If You Love Me

Chapter 2 – If you love me: You'll be nice

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Recap:_

_But that wasn't what took my breath away. He resembled him so much!_

_"U-U-Uchiha.." I whispered. He turned to look at me but I had already started running off. I jumped onto the roofs of the houses and headed to the Hokage's office. There was something I needed to tell him._

* * *

I growled angrily as the timer on my bedside table rang loud and clear. Forming a small chakra ball in my hand, I blasted the damn thing to bits. It was only then that I noticed just how… MORNING it was.

"Holy shit! Stupid alarm clock, not waking me up on time." I grumbled unfairly, even though I wasn't the one on the ground, blasted to bits.

"You know, you shouldn't blame the inanimate object that was just trying to do its job. You WERE the one to smash it, after all." I shot up. Who spoke? Why was there someone in my room? Unless…

I flung a silver knife at the intruders head. The man yelped and, presumably, dodged.

"What the hell was that for? You aren't really a morning person are you? I guess I can't really speak." I growled at him and lifted the covers from my head.

"Kakashi… You already know just how much I hate mornings, right? So why the heck ARE YOU STILL IN MY DAMN ROOM?" The silver headed jounin just chuckled and disappeared with a poof. Although he didn't forget to remind me about what the Hokage said yesterday.

_Flashback_

_After I ran off on Sasuke and Naruto, I headed straight to the Hokage office. I completely forgot about the thing I was supposed to inform him about._

_"Sarutobi? Sarutobi-sama! __**HOKAGE-SAMA!"**__ I yelled at the top of my lungs when I reached the door of his office. A very frantic looking old man opened the door and glared at me._

_"Yo, old man," The Hokage cringed, "I have something I need to tell you, it's really extremely important."_

_"Alright Akira, I have something to say to you too." What? I didn't even get to question him when I was glomped by the silver head jounin. Kakashi I think his name was?_

_"Oh gee, Hokage, did you hear that? This small girl here said more than two words for the first time since she came into your office!" He let go of me quickly as I sent a chakra blast toward him._

_"Anyway, __**Hokage,**__ if I can finish what I'm saying before I'm interrupted," I glared at Kakashi, "It's about Itachi." The Hokage and Kakashi sobered immediately. I glanced at the silver head before looking back to the old man._

_"Don't worry; Kakashi won't be of any danger to you, Akira. You can speak with ease." Even though he reassured me I couldn't help but feel vulnerable about revealing information to a jounin._

_"Well," I began slowly, "I have a little information concerning little Uchiha." I nodded to the Hokage's silent question. It was indeed Sasuke whom I was talking about. _

_"Before I came here, I trained with the Akatsuki for a while," I paused as Kakashi growled. The old man signaled for me to continue, "I was trained by most of their members but never once did I take part in their activities. Itachi trained me the most so naturally he and I became closer. I soon learned of how he massacred his whole clan and only spared Sasuke. I also learned something else but now is not the time to reveal it to you." I paused, thinking of Madara Uchiha._

_"Itachi is getting weak," I said quietly, "His eyesight is diminishing and soon it will come the time when Sasuke will leave to start his path as an Avenger. I have thought of many possibly ways for you to try and stop him but they all are prevented by a block in the road." Both men looked at me alarmingly. They were probably wondering how I knew so much and why I was telling them all this._

_"Itachi spared Sasuke so that he, Sasuke could one day avenge their clan for the wrongs that Itachi had committed." I looked Sarutobi-sama straight in the eye, "Hokage-sama, I am pretty sure you know what I am talking about. You seemed to have the ability to prevent this from happening but stood on the sidelines to watch as the Uchiha clan got demolished."_

_I knew that was an extremely bold statement to make to the Hokage but it had to be done._

_"Anyway, Itachi plans on spurring Sasuke on to make him stronger so that one day, the two of them will fight to the death and Sasuke will win, he will then gain the Mangekyo Sharingan." I paused to look at Kakashi's expression. He was looking out the window with a thoughtful look on his face._

_"Itachi cannot see the flaws in his plan but I can. Something will go wrong because someone," Madara Uchiha, I added silently in my head, "will interfere. You must be aware of this, but the block in your road to saving Sasuke, the person he is going to go to, is Orochimaru."_

_The Hokage didn't seem fazed by what I had revealed but Kakashi had a shocked facial expression. I kept my face void of emotions and continued my story._

_"I have yet another warning for you. You may choose to believe me and take the necessary precautions when the time comes or not but, The Fourth Great Shinobi War is approaching. I cannot tell you when but it will not be in your life-time, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi-sama didn't look shocked or angry; in fact, he was smiling knowingly at me. Opposed to that though, Kakashi was fuming._

_"How dare you say that? Are you insinuating that the Hokage-sama will die? How rude of you, Akira." The old man put his hand up to prevent Kakashi to speak any longer. He smiled at me._

_"Akira, you are a girl that has just come into our village and yet you are presenting us with a great deal of valuable knowledge, for that I am grateful. My dear child, you are wise beyond your years. Do you plan on staying here?" I contemplated the fact and was surprised to find that I had already decided to stay._

_"Yes, Hokage-sama, I will indeed be staying in Konoha and will lend a hand in whatever you may wish of me."_

_"Very well, Akira. I suggest you start anew here. Why don't you go to the Academy tomorrow? I will enroll you and you will have a chance to start with new friends." I smirked at that. Friends? New friends? Not like I had any old friends._

_"Oh, and Akira? Try not to let the other kids know too much of your ability yet. I don't want life to be any harder for you here than it was wherever you were before."_

_End Flashback_

I finally finished slipping on my combat boots and looked in the mirror. I was wearing black tight bike shorts with a long loose dark blue peasant top. I had my knives strapped on me but decided to leave my shuriken at home.

"Hokage-sama did tell me to keep my abilities a secret. I should probably not tell them that I am a jounin level ninja." I laughed darkly.

As I walked out the door, I reached to pick up my Draconian sword that was leaning on the door frame.

The walk to the academy was peaceful, the people in the town were curious to see a new person walking around.

When I actually arrived at the Academy, I was struck with a thought. _I'm late…_

I shrugged and walked toward the office. I'm always late anyway. There was a ninja walking down the corridor to my left. He was carrying something. Or someone.

"Oh.. Yo! Akira! I didn't know you went to the academy!" Of course you wouldn't, Naruto, I only just got enrolled. I sweat-dropped. Hearing Naruto yell, the sensei turned around.

"Oh! You must be Akira, our new student. Come with me." He turned and began walking again. I followed him quietly.

As Iruka-sensei dragged Naruto into the class room and began introducing the new student, me, I looked around the corridor and saw lots of pictures of famous ninja.

"Akira," Iruka-sensei poked his head through the classroom door, "You can come in now."

I walked into the classroom slowly, immediately regretting not wearing my cloak.

"So, introduce yourself." Iruka-sensei gestured for me to start talking.

"Miyuki Akira, aged 12," I said quietly, staring straight ahead, which just happened to be at Sasuke.

The girls started whispering as the noticed me staring at their "Casanova". The guys just kept looking at me, as if waiting for me to say more. My stare soon became a glare as Sasuke did the famous Uchiha 'look'.

"Akira, you can go sit next to Sasuke, seeing as that's the only free seat left." I shrugged and glided over to the seat, gracefully avoiding the foot a pink haired girl, with a huge forehead, had put out on purpose.

As I sat down, Uchiha turned to look at me. I ignored him and looked at the teacher, pretending to be interested.

"I can't believe her! The nerve! How dare she sit next to Sasuke?" a girl whispered behind me, obviously loud enough for me to hear.

"I know right? And look at how close she is to him, what a slut." Another girl said. Sadly, this time everyone heard it loud and clear.

Multiple eyes turned to me excluding Iruka-sensei. He was too busy droning on about clones and substitutions. The girl behind me threw a fist at my head; I dodged it and continued to listen to the teacher. As expected, the force of her punch was too much and she toppled over her desk, landing on Sasuke and me.

"Move." We both said. In turn, we looked at each other.

"E-e-eh? I'm so sorry Sasuke-kun! Forgive me, please!" She looked at Sasuke and pouted, trying to look cute. I raised an eyebrow at Sasuke but he just shook his head.

"Ino, please get off Sasuke and Akira. The minute I turn around, you're all over each other."

'Ino' blushed bright red and scrambled back to her chair, not forgetting to death glare me first, of course.

At recess, I didn't move from my seat and noticed Sasuke hadn't made a move to leave either. Come to think of it, neither had that Ino girl.

"You know, _Akira_, if you want Sasuke so bad, you're gonna have to fight me!" Ino declared as she stood up on her chair, glaring at me. Or at least I thought she was glaring at me, I don't know, I had my head turned to face the front.

"Hn." I wasn't an Uchiha but staying around Itachi so long, I guess it kind of wore off on me.

"Oh god, she's just like another Sasuke." A boy said from behind me. Oh, so I guess it wasn't just Raven, Blondie and I.

"Oi, fight me." I turned my head to face Sasuke.

"You?" I questioned, cocking my head slightly to the side.

"Yeah," he replied. I shrugged my shoulders and stood gracefully. He was about to question where I was going but I beckoned for him to follow me. Everybody decided to come and watch, completely forgetting about Ino, so I lead them all outside to the yard.

"Here." I said quietly. I wasn't sure if he heard me but he nodded. The other kids on the playground stopped and watched as well.

He got into a fighting stance while I just stood there, hands behind my head with a lazy look on my face.

"Oi, teme, are you gonna fight me? Or are you too chicken?" he taunted at me smirking. I just shook my head and smiled.

"You first." I told him, signifying that I wanted him to make the first move.

He nodded and flew at me, ready to punch me senseless. Still, I just stood there. _Stuff what the Hokage says. If I'm fighting little Uchiha than I want to see what he's made of._

I surrounded my hands with my chakra and waited for him to get closer. He was bringing up enormous speed but it wouldn't affect me if he didn't know how to punch right.

"Here." I whispered as I caught his fist with two fingers. "Even Chakra Release!" this wasn't a jutsu. It was just something I came up with when I was fighting against Kisame. I needed something to stop that stupid sword of his.

Sasuke looked at me shocked before jumping back, away from me. _Smart_, I thought.

"Fire release: Great Fireball!" he yelled as he blew a huge ball of flame at me. My eyes widened. This was indeed Itachi's little brother. No normal 12 year old would have enough chakra to pull off something like that jutsu.

He didn't stop there. He threw strong punches and kicks at me but I just deflected and dodged all of them.

"Stop." I commanded him and surprisingly, he came to an abrupt halt.

"I no longer want to fight you. You are weak and in no comparison, little Uchiha." I paused. I shouldn't have said that. Oh well.

He growled angrily at me and tried to kick me. I caught his foot. Waving with two fingers, I dropped his foot as I disappeared.

"I hope Iruka-sensei doesn't mind me skipping classes." I laughed as I flopped onto the bed of the apartment the Hokage had given to me.

**Meanwhile**

Sasuke wasn't embarrassed or pissed at the fact that he just completely got owned by Akira. He instead was determined to train and fight to get stronger so that he could eventually beat her.

"I can't believe it! That girl beat Sasuke!" someone gasped and soon, there was an uproar of exclamations.

"Hn." Was all Sasuke said before walking back to the classroom as the bell rang.


	4. Chapter 3 - If You Love Me

Chapter 3 – If You Love Me: You'll Listen To Me

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

****_Recap:_

_Sasuke wasn't embarrassed or pissed at the fact that he just completely got owned by Akira. He instead was determined to train and fight to get stronger so that he could eventually beat her._

_"I can't believe it! That girl beat Sasuke!" someone gasped and soon, there was an uproar of exclamations._

_"Hn." Was all Sasuke said before walking back to the classroom as the bell rang._

* * *

_As the days went by, Sasuke kept his promise to himself and trained hard. He trained whenever he had time; before school, after school, before dinner, before bed and the same thing the next day. He got stronger and better at ninjutsu and taijutsu but the lack of sleep made him get thinner and sleepier. This didn't go unnoticed by his classmates and teacher and especially not by certain brunette._

I sat at my desk, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. So far, only Shikamaru and Iruka-sensei were in the classroom with me and it was peaceful. No-one said anything; Shikamaru was asleep, his head lazily drooping and saliva dripping from his open mouth. I laughed quietly to myself. _What a lazy kid. _Sensei was writing up something on the board, I think it was something about clones and shadow clones. I had already been taught this stuff by Itachi and _Tobi_ but it was good to go over it again with kids my age.

"Hey… Iruka-sensei… What do you think is going on with Sasuke? I mean, he's always been anti-social from what I've heard, but… After the fight he had with me… He's seemed… more anti-social, if that's possible?" I asked Iruka-sensei as he finally finished the nots on the board. He turned around to look at me with a tire smile.

"It's not really my business to tell you what's wrong with Sasuke but I guess after he lost your fight it just took a huge toll on him. Or maybe he's just training extra hard now that he's not at the top of the class anymore." At the last sentence, Iruka-sensei became serious and looked at my face carefully, as if trying to figure out my reaction.

I kept my expression void of emotion and stared right back at him. I blinked before speaking up.

"What do you mean sensei? Is there someone who's scores beat the Uchiha's?" I asked Iruka-sensei but I already knew the answer.

"Yeah, it's yours." He replied simply, still staring at me with those questioning eyes.

_Shit_, I cursed myself. I had really been trying to keep a low profile and stray away from the higher scores but I guess that meant I over-estimated the class. _ If the Hokage knows about this he's gonna scold me for sure. So much for keeping my talents hidden._

Iruka-sensei seemed to see my frustration and let out a laugh, which woke Shikamaru.

"Ha-ha, don't worry; you're not beating him by far. If you want to keep your title as the top of the class I suggest you train. Or are you confident in your abilities already?" He sobered at his last sentence and went back to staring into my face.

I was about to make up an excuse when Naruto and Sasuke walked in, bickering like usual. I sighed and sank back into my seat, not noticing Shikamaru's accusing gaze on me.

"Baka, stop following me!"

"I'm not following you Sasu-gay, BELIEVE IT!"

I growled quietly and sank further into my seat. I had an irritating tempt to reach back and pull up my hood so I wouldn't hear so much of their stupid banter.

I actually remembered my hood today, unlike the first time I stepped into this class room and so many days that followed it.

"Your bag is in my seat. Move it." I looked up in surprise but my eyes immediately narrowed.

"It's not in your seat. There's still plenty of room left so quit being a Prissy and sit." I lashed back at Sasuke with equal venom in my voice. It was the first time he had spoken to me since our clash in the school yard and I had no obligation to be nice to him.

"Hn." He glared at me and sat down abruptly, nearly squishing my bag. I made no move to retrieve it and left it there. It created a comfortable wall between the two of us.

As sensei droned on and on about clones, my hood drooped lower and I fell asleep.

I woke up to some shuffling and a loud slam of a bag hitting my desk. My eyes flew open and narrowed when I saw my bag on my desk as well as my notebook, filled with notes from today's lesson… That I DIDN'T write.

I turned accusingly to my left, ready to snap at Sasuke. Except, it wasn't Sasuke who was sitting there, it was Shikamaru.

"What do you want?" I said, wincing as my sentence came out meaner then I intended. His eyes narrowed at my tone but he didn't comment.

"Well, I saw that you were asleep and decided to be nice and write your notes for you."

"Now why would you do that?" I mused. This boy was interesting. What did he want?

"What did you want in return?" I asked him, knowing for sure that this was his intention.

"I want to know your story," I blinked at his bold comment but he continued before I could cut in, "I know that you have secrets and several things u your sleeve. I don't want to know the future," I blinked again at him, this time in amazement. Was he there when I told the Hokage all that stuff? "No, I wasn't eavesdropping I just happened to walk pass his office just at that time."

My mouth turned into a grim line and I contemplated on what I should do. Should I tell him my story? Or should I just run and let him annoy me forever?

"I will tell you my story," I passed as he grinned lazily at me, "But can choose whether or not to leave some things out. You must not tell anyone else. After this, you may consider me the enemy but trust me, I will forever fight for Konoha unless something that concerns the life and death of millions comes up."

Shikamaru nodded stood. He walked to the door and beckoned me to follow him.

"Where are we going? Iruka-sensei is gonna crack it if he finds out that I'm skipping again."

"We'll deal with that when it comes. I'm taking you to a place where we can talk and not be overheard."

He led me into the forest and kept heading deeper inside it. I followed him carefully, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

"Hurry up! Troublesome woman." He called out and picked up his pace.

I smirked at him and followed suit. Shikamaru was back to his lazy self again.

He stopped at a clearing and flopped down right in the centre. I sat opposite him and dragged my hood off.

"Well, let's start from the beginning shall we?" I shuffled around until I was comfortable and began the story, the story of me.

"Well, as far as I can remember is at age five so I'll start from there. When I was little, I lived in a big house. There were so many adults around and I was the only child so there was tons of fussing about things that concerned me. My dad and mum were from separate clans and so this meant that I had to work twice as hard. I was succeeding not one but two clans. My parents' marriage was supposed to be an arranged marriage but they fell in love at twenty-one and only then did they find out that they were supposed to get married. They didn't care, they were planning to anyway." I paused and looked at Shikamaru. He was listening intently.

"As the years went on I grew up pampered and spoiled rotten but never once did I experience the love of my parents. They were so in love with each other, they just left me to the care of the maids and nurses. I was about seven by the time I realised that wishing for a normal family was hopeless and stupid. I decided to leave, run away and find a different happiness." Shikamaru's eyebrows rose in a questioning gaze and I continued.

"I ran away from the Leiko house on the night of my seventh birthday. I didn't know how long I ran for but I soon ended up in a town. It was old and constantly raining."

"Amegakure?" Shikamaru guessed. I nodded and continued my tale.

"I walked into a diner, all wet and soggy and immediately everyone looked up at me. I reckon that would have been a funny sight. Short little seven year old kid just standing there at the door, dripping wet from the rain. I was ushered inside and everyone was murmuring about me. I glred at the people talking and soon the chatter started up again, everybody soon forgetting about the wet girl. The shop owner led me to the back and gave me a towel. I explained my situation to him and he offered me a place to stay but I refused. Later that evening, as I thanked the shop owner and was about to leave, a hand came onto my shoulder and stopped me." I paused and looked at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru and I sat there until dusk. I told him about how I got accepted into the Akatsuki and how everybody trained me. I showed him how I hid my chakra level and taught him how to do it too. He sat and listened to me patiently as I explained to him why Itachi had to murder his clan and why he was a good guy not a bad guy.

As I bid him farewell, Shikamaru smiled lazily at me and waved.

"See you tomorrow, Akira-san." I smiled back at him.

"Bye, Shikamaru."

The next morning, I woke up to some knocking at my door. I grumbled silently but picked up my knife just to be sure.

I felt a familiar chakra behind the door but I was too sleepy to discern whose it was. As I yanked the door open I growled.

"Kakashi I am NOT in the mood. I told you to stop waking me up so early."

"Uh… I'm not who you thought but uh… can I talk to you?" My eyes widened as I realized it wasn't Kakashi.

"What are you doing here, little Uchiha?" He growled at my name for him but quickly sobered.

"Actually, that's part of the reason why I'm here." He mumbled, looking down to his feet. It was obvious Sasuke wasn't used to speaking more than two words.

"Come in. Sorry about the mess, it's just I'm always too lazy to clean up." I moved aside to let him in.

He stood awkwardly in the hall way and I sighed. Leading him towards the lounge room in silence, I wondered what he wanted to talk about.

As I flopped onto the couch and he sat down next to me, I turned to look at him.

"What did you want?" I looked toward him, my head cocked to the side.

"Uh, well, I was wandering why you always call me little Uchiha, emphasis on the _little._" He looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"Shit…" I muttered under my breath. I looked down at my hands and decided to tell him.

"I knew your brother." I didn't look up. I didn't want to see his expression.

"What?"

"I knew your brother." I repeated. He sighed and I was forced to look up at him.

"I heard what you said baka, I just couldn't comprehend it. How did you know him?" I scowled. I told him I knew Itachi but I couldn't tell him how.

"You're going into bad territory." I cautioned him.

"I said," Sasuke was starting to raise his voice, "_How did you know him?_"

I glared at him and stood up. I was about to tell him to get out of my house when a hand grabbed my arm.

My mood thickened and it didn't help that the rain had started, reminding me of Itachi and the Akatsuki.

"Sasuke…" I growled and the arm on me froze.

"Let go of me ar-"

"Say it again." I turned around to look at him in confusion.

"Say what?" He just repeated his last sentence.

"Sasuke! What do you want?!" I screamed at him, my patience running thin.

"Say it one more time." I growled louder at him, trying to rip my arm free without out hurting either one of us but it was no use. He had my arm in a vice grip.

"Say what, Damnit!"

"Say my name again." He said, licking his lips, looking at me weirdly.

"Sasuke?" I said, a little more controlled now. He was acting weird. What was up with him? Before I could question him, he disappeared.

"What the hell?" I shook my head and went to grab my weapons, ready for training.


	5. Chapter 4 - If You Love Me

Chapter 4 – If You Love Me: You'll Introduce Me

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Recap:_

_"Say my name again." He said, licking his lips, looking at me weirdly._

_"Sasuke?" I said, a little more controlled now. He was acting weird. What was up with him? Before I could question him, he disappeared._

_"What the hell?" I shook my head and went to grab my weapons, ready for training._

* * *

After our little "chat" Sasuke avoided me like I was the plague. Not that I minded of course, I was too busy training. What I was training for, I had no idea. Maybe I just wanted to keep my strength up so if, IF, Itachi ever came for me, I would be able to prove my worth. I threw my knife harder at the tree I was currently abusing.

"Aw! Who am I kidding? Everyone thinks I lost my memory. It's not like they're going to keep looking for me!" I sighed and sat down, leaving my knives embedded in the, now full of holes and markings, tree.

A shadow passed me and looked up at the cloud. Envy coursed through my veins. Clouds were so free…

"Jealous of a cloud? What's become of me?" I murmured, still stuck in my daze.

"That's pretty pathetic." I whipped around, on guard.

"Itachi? No, it's you." He was also looking at the clouds when I whirled around but his eyes flew down to meet mine as I spoke.

"Hn." I winced when I realized how I had mistaken the young Uchiha for his prodigy brother. Again I cringed, realising the silent compliment I had just given.

"What are you doing here?" I didn't mean for it to come out as an accusation but he HAD been avoiding me for the past few weeks.

I took this chance to actually look at him. He was my age and yet the last time I met him, I had acted as if he were younger than me, a nuisance. Over the past weeks he had really grown and slightly matured, although his attitude didn't seem any better.

"I just came to apologize. Sorry about the other day, I just kind of lost it." he rubbed the back of his head. Was that a small tint of red I saw on the Uchiha's face?

"About that," I looked at him criticizing his facial response, "What was with all the 'say my name again' thing?" he scowled at me and his blush deepened.

"I didn't say THAT!" he denied loudly, glaring at me. I just laughed slightly and patted the ground next to me.

"Sit down, Sasuke, there's a lot I need to tell you and I don't think you want to stand the whole time." He fidgeted with his shirt a bit before actually deciding to sit down.

"Hn." He stated as he flopped down beside me.

"What were you going to tell me?" He asked, looking at me curiously. There was a deep look in his eyes that sincerely reminded me of the _other_ Uchiha brother. I shook the thought out of my head and smiled sheepishly at Sasuke.

"Actually, I know you have a lot of questions for me so I was wondering if you just wanted to get it over and done with and just ask me now. I don't actually know where to start so just shoot your questions. Although I might ask some of you in between." I warned him, in case he was like his older brother and hated to be interrupted.

"How did you know my brother?" Wow, cutting straight to the point.

"He was one of my senseis."

"How did you meet him?" he asked me. I paused, not entirely sure how to answer this one.

"Well, I think it's best to tell you what happened to me first." I looked at him, asking silently for permission. He just gave me a nod and I continued.

"You may not know this and I'm not very sure I should tell you but it's the only way for you to understand. I was born from the heirs of two clans, each with their own Kekkei Genkai. I was treated like royalty in the house and it annoyed me to no end. I was closer to the lady in the kitchen then my parents." I shook at the memory before continuing, avoiding Sasuke's peering gaze.

"It became too much for me, the pressure of which Kekkei Genkai I would attain pushed me to my limit. I took upon myself to flee my family on the night of my seventh birthday. It may seem like I was fleeing from my responsibilities but I was a seven year old with no parental love. This was something that was set on my mind for a long time coming." Sasuke raised an eyebrow but did not say anything.

"As I ran that night, I had no destination in mind and I soon collapsed in a forest, depleted of energy. That was when your brother found me. He took me back to the Akatsuki hideout the Leader there granted me the 'honour'," I exaggerated the word, "of being a member. I refused. Although I would have been the youngest person to ever join the Akatsuki, I had no wish to be part of the killings. Instead, I asked to be trained and he offered me the choice of training with ninjutsu, taijutsu or genjutsu. I couldn't pick so I boldly picked all of them. I was trained by most of the Akatsuki members but Itachi and I grew the closest. That was how I met your brother."

"Did you love him?" he asked as soon as I finished, not skipping a beat.

"What?"

"I asked you if you love him. You speak of him so fondly." I smiled wryly at Sasuke and wondered how he was so perceptive. _Uchiha genes…_

"Listen, I think that's enough for today but I will answer your question, just not now. I'll see you in class tomorrow. We have the Genin Examination tomorrow with Iruka-sensei so let's both do our best!" I stuck out my hand to Sasuke and he grasped it.

I smirked, what a great idea I just thought of. Without any warning, I brought my fist up to his face my smirk only grew when he caught it and lifted his right leg, trying to hit me in the stomach, all the while, not one of us had let go of the others hand.

"See you tomorrow, little Uchiha." I said as I teleported back to my room, a jutsu I had usefully dried out of Madara, I mean, Tobi.

That night, I had peaceful dreams; for once they weren't plagued with the Akatsuki and Itachi.

The next morning, I woke up later than usual and even though there was still a decent amount of time before I had to be at school for the exam I panicked. It was only when I looked in the mirror after I had finished dressing did I realize this was a _Genin_ test and I was a _Jounin_.

"What the hell? Why am I worried?" I shook my head in amazement and dropped the thought of skipping breakfast out of my head. I sat down in front of the table and pored myself some cereal whilst contemplating who I was going to annoy today.

"Ah shit I promised Sasuke I would meet him today, didn't I?" I shrugged my shoulders indifferently, _oh well._ He's not gonna come after my with a giant pitchfork.

I cleaned up quickly and decided to take my sword with me today.

"Might as well bring something to scare the senseis with." I said darkly, before pasting a vibrant smile upon my face.

I jumped through the neighbourhood not even caring now that I was late. It was a beautiful day and there was nothing to worry about. Then again, was the weather ever bad here in Konoha?

"I don't think I've recalled a single day it's rained here in Konoha. Hmm… Strange difference compared to Amegakure…"

When I actually arrived at the academy I decided against walking to the classroom the normal way, through the corridors, and instead climbed up the wall to my class room. I lifted open the windows, noticing everyone lining up for something and slipped in quietly.

"Okay, good job Sakura, Sasuke, you're next." Iruka-sensei said as Sakura poofed out of her transformation.

Sakura looked to Sasuke, as if asking for praise but Sasuke merely ignored her and walked to the front of the room.

"That was rude, little Uchiha." I commented quietly so that no one knew I was here yet. My chakra was already masked so they couldn't sense it. Sasuke did his transformation and returned to his seat.

"Okay, next is Akira." Before Iruka-sensei could say anything else, and before I could reveal myself, Sakura opened her big mouth and said that I wasn't here yet. I took that as a cue to show myself.

"Who said I wasn't here yet, Pinky?" I smirked at her shocked face, as I had stepped out of the shadows right in front of her.

"So, sensei, I just have to transform into something right?" I smiled as sensei nodded. Knowing that transforming into this person would cause me to get in trouble I smiled and di it anyway.

"Transformation Jutsu!" I said and transformed into… Itachi!

"Wait, I'm not done yet." I then cloned myself before transforming into Sasuke.

"How do you feel about a family reunion, Sasuke?" I smirked at him before cancelling my Jutsus and returning to my seat. Iruka-sensei was glaring at me, I think but he didn't say anything.

Everyone did the transformation pretty well but Naruto… He transformed into a naked girl, covered only by smoke, or was it clouds?

Iruka-sensei cleaned his nose bleed before calling each one of us up to do the clone jutsu. Sasuke did it _ perfectly_ as expected and before I knew it, I was snapped out of my reverie.

"It's your turn Akira, and don't try anything funny." I looked at him for a second, what could I possibly do with a transformation Jutsu that would be _funny_?

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I shouted, but not too loudly as I traced my hands into the correct hand seal. Five solid shadow clones of myself popped out and I glanced at Iruka-sensei. He was trying to mask his surprise. His reaction made me wonder if Hokage-sama even told him about **me**.

Once again, just like the transformation jutsu, everyone went pretty well, except for Naruto. Iruka-sensei dismissed us all with a disappointed facial expression. He was clearly upset about Naruto's performance and that reaction got my blood boiling. How dare he be mad at Naruto! It wasn't his fault he was a Jinchuriki! I unintentionally growled at him and everyone left the classroom, not wanting to face the wrath of me.

Only Naruto, Sasuke and I had remained and I stood to walk over to Naruto. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at me but didn't say anything.

"Hey, Naruto, don't be upset, I'm sure there's another way for you to pass!" He looked up at me but his eyes fell when he saw the Leaf headband around my neck. I lay a hand on his head and ruffled his hair before smiling at him.

"I'll support you, every step of the way, because I kind of understand how you feel." I whispered to him. He looked at me again and I smiled brightly at him, before whispering again.

"Believe it! Trust yourself that you can do it and you **will **succeed, Naruto, I know you can." With that I walked out of the classroom, Sasuke tagging behind me. We left Naruto to think over my words.

"So, what did you mean by you kind of understand how he feels?" Sasuke asked me, looking curiously at me.

"Well, he has been alone all his life and I kind of have too, although differently to him," I paused and looked at him, straight in the eye, "and you. I didn't have my family massacred and I didn't have rocks thrown at me either. I had people around but they never spoke to me, never supported me. They acted friendly when someone important was nearby but as soon as they were left alone with me, I would start getting yelled at and scolded for things I didn't do. Servants would always blame me for their misery, saying I was the cause of the suffering and soon I became so much alone. I was about to give up before I decided to run away. When I collapsed in the forest I really did think that I had no hope, at least before…" I trailed off, turning away from him.

I felt a hand on my shoulder but I still didn't turn around. E had stopped walking altogether and just stood there, in the middle of the deserted street.

"Before you met my brother, right?" I nodded at him and he smiled painfully at me. It wasn't a smirk, it was a real genuine smile, even if all it showed was pain and suffering, it was a smile.

He grabbed my arm and started leading me somewhere. I didn't protest as I knew he wanted to show me something.

"Welcome to the Uchiha compound." He said when we arrived. I realized he was still holding my arm and I pulled away. Looking in awe at the place where Sasuke's clan got murdered.

"It looks so sad, doesn't it?" I asked Sasuke, peering at him cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah it does." He replied to me. I wandered around looking at all the houses before I stopped in front of one that didn't look so old and dusty.

"Is this where you live?" I questioned him rhetorically.

"Hn," was all he said before walking inside, not even bothering to remove his shoes. I was unsure whether I should follow suit or take off my shoes politely.

"Just come inside!" he said from the kitchen, I think. I sighed and stepped inside the house. As soon as my foot was in, I was hit with a blast of memories and feelings and emotions.

I followed Sasuke's voice and saw him standing in what must be the living room. He was holding some picture frames. I walked over to him and he handed me the pictures. They were of two different people.

"Akira, meet my parents, Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha." He said quietly.

I nearly dropped the two picture frames. I placed them back on the shelf where I thought they had been placed. Sasuke shuffled around a bit and I turned back to him. His hair was covering his eyes and his hands were clenched into fists. It was pretty obvious he was hurting. I sighed.

I wrapped my arms around his neck in an embrace. I had to lean on my tip toes to reach his ears. I whispered comfort into him and warmed my hands with a friendly chakra. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his head on my shoulder. We just stood there, hugging. His breathing returned to normal pace and soon slowed. I felt him falling asleep on me so I sat down slowly, not letting go of him.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep. I chuckled quietly before laying him down, his head on my lap. I began to feel drowsy so I sat a chakra blanket over the both of us to keep us warm before also closing my eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 5 - If You Love Me

Chapter 5 – If You Love Me: You'll Wake Me Up

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Thanks to PurePrincess, Tahere-Ravenword and Asuka for their awesome reviews! (EEKK! I got a review for my first fanfiction… WOOOOOT!)__Recap:_

_He closed his eyes and fell asleep. I chuckled quietly before laying him down, his head on my lap. I began to feel drowsy so I sat a chakra blanket over the both of us to keep us warm before also closing my eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep._

* * *

I tossed and turned in my bed. The covers and blankets were suffocating me but if I removed them I would feel cold. I didn't need to look at the clock beside my bed to know that it was around 1 am.

"Goddamnit! Why the hell can't I get to sleep?" there was an unsettling silence as I felt the fleeting sign of chakra. It was cold and unwelcoming but it felt so… familiar.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Reaching for the knife that was under my pillow, I sleepily fell into defensive stance.

"Akira…" I whipped around, turning to look behind me. By this time, I was wide awake and no longer sitting on my dishevelled bed.

"Come back…" I jumped up and started moving around the room, thoroughly creeped out.

"Show yourself! Are you so cowardly as to try to scare me like this? Why are you haunting me?" I said, my voice unwavering but my mind in slight turmoil.

"Why did you forget?" once again the smooth voice whispered, this time it felt much closer to me.

I felt a spike of chakra and turned toward my window, which was open. That was odd; I never opened my window at night.

"Do you really think they trust you?" I slammed my kunai behind me as I heard the voice right next to my ear.

"Akira… Akira! AKIRA! **AKIRA!** _Akira, AKIRA, **AKIRA!**_" Voices screamed my name, they were all hauntingly familiar and I screamed. I let out a huge scream but to my dismay, no one heard me.

"Where is everybody? Sasuke? Naruto? Kakashi? _Itachi?!"_

I sat up abruptly in my bed, trying to calm my thoughts and slow my heartbeat.

"The heck was that? It was a dream? I can't believe it. The **_Akatsuki_**! I was dreaming of the _Akatsuki! _Those voices I heard weren't of ghosts, they were of everyone's… Konan's, Pein's, Hidan's, Kakuzu's, Sasori's, Deidara's, Kisame's, _Tobi's or **Madara's,**_ Itachi's…

"No! Why now? I've been fine up until now but why me? So many dreams so many!" I flopped back onto my pillow and turned to my side, silent tears dripped down my face, leaving a silver trail.

I cried quietly to myself, slowly falling back to sleep, haunted still by the voices of my friends and senseis.

The next morning I could barely wake up. Everywhere I turned I could hear whispers from my dream and I could see feint disappointment in every one's faces.

When I looked into the mirror I wasn't in the least bit surprised to see my hair sticking up in all directions and gigantic bags under my eyes.

I heard a sound at my window but I didn't bother to turn my head.

"Ugh, so tired…" I moaned sleepily. "Can't we meet our team and sensei tomorrow?"

I heard a chuckle from the window and was curious enough to find the energy to turn my head.

"What do you want, little Uchiha?" I asked tiredly, I wasn't in the mood for his stupid antics.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to get some ramen for breakfast but it seems like you're a bit too much on the tired side." He said with a grin, managing to raise his voice a few decibels, just enough to give me a pounding head ache.

"Ugh go away; I am too tired for this." I threw whatever was in front of my mirror at him, which just happened to be my headband. It landed a few feet away from my target and I groaned, annoyed and tired.

"Well if you're not going to get dresses I'll have to do it myself." There was a warning tone in his voice but I was too drowsy to comprehend what the meaning of his sentence was.

"Okay, if you can get a clean shirt from over there." I lifted an aching finger over to point at, where I assumed was, my closet.

"Uh-h-h," he stuttered a bit, obviously not expecting this response, "Okay…" if I had turned around I would have seen the red tint on his face clearly but I could see enough with the mirror in front of me.

"Hey Sasuke…" I drawled drowsily,

"Y-y-yes?" Aww he was stuttering, I made Sasuke stutter and I was freaking HALF ASLEEP.

"Are you blushing? Turn around!" I slurred at him, before slamming my head on the dresser in front of the mirror.

Sasuke walked to me, shirt in hand, and poked me in the shoulder. He shoved and pushed and pulled but I didn't wake up.

"Five more minutes, damned Uchiha…" I groaned, unsure of whether I knew I was talking to Sasuke or if I thought it was Itachi.

I felt a sigh and movement around my shoulders and head before something slipped over me.

"I've put on your shirt now can you _please_ wake up and put on your shorts, AKIRA!" he screamed in my ear. It was pretty obvious he was annoyed at me but amused at the same time.

"Mmmm… whatever… Go away Sasuke; wait outside the window or something…" I groaned as I stood up and started fixing my hair, not even noticing Sasuke raising his voice for the first time.

Sasuke stood up to leave and I went to find a suitable pair of shorts for the day.

When I finally finished getting ready, we were already ten minutes late; I wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke ditched me.

I wasn't expecting him there so when I zombied to the window and was about to jump out, I screamed bloody murder when he grabbed my hand.

"Come on, let's go, we're late enough Akira." He grabbed my hand tighter and we took off running. Actually, he was the only one running; I was sort of dangling in the air behind him.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura screamed into our faces when we arrived at the classroom. Some teams had left already and so there were only a few kids left.

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed before turning his head away from me. He still hadn't let go of my hand yet and Sakura zeroed in on that fact.

"A…Kir….A!" I sleepily turned to look at her, unaware of the deathly aura surrounding her.

"Let go ok Sasuke-kun's hand, baka. You're not allowed to hold his hand!" I didn't hear her words as I had already dozed off, slightly drooping my head on Sasuke's shoulder._ He reminds me of Itachi so much…_

"Oi, teme, get off me." Sasuke tugged his hand away and attempted to push me off. I snuggled in closer to him, not even realising it.

By this time, all the other students had been _collected_ by their appropriate sensei. The only ones left were us.

"Get your hands off Sasuke-kun, baka-Kira!" Sakura started pulling me from Sasuke, I assumed there was a wild glare on her face.

"Eh… Sensei's late… I know!" Naruto was completely oblivious to what was happening and instead started to set up a chalk on top of the classroom door.

I jumped in a start and opened my eyes immediately, pushing both Sakura and Sasuke to the ground. I had heard it again, the voices that were whispering my name. I pulled into a defensive stance and checked the classroom.

"Naruto, the sensei will never fall for that stupid trick!" Apparently Sakura had already gotten over the fact that I had pushed her to the ground and was now focusing on reprimanding Naruto for his antics."

"Hn." Sasuke stated, merely watching with bored eyes. Naruto started complaining but I soon fell back asleep. There was no-one suspicious in the classroom.

The door started to open and I lifted one tired eye lid. What I saw made me jolt awake in both shock and amusement.

"Kakashi?! **You're **teaching us?" I sunk to the nearest table and started fake sobbing. Although it was pretty amusing to see Kakashi get hit with the chalk.

"My first impression of you guys is… You're all a bunch of idiots." I sat straighter and opened both eyes to glare at the silver head.

"How dare you! I am NOT an idiot and besides, this isn't the first time you've met me." I smiled smugly at him before falling asleep again.

"You don't count Akira, you're just plain weird." I think was his response. Wow, that sounded really familiar… Oh yeah, Itachi said that to me when he was talking about my clan.

I felt a movement and found myself being lifted up and carried somewhere.

"Where are we going, Uchiha?" I poked him in the chest. He only scoffed and picked up his pace.

"Mmmm, whatever, don't answer me than." I fell back asleep, but not before hearing Tobi's loud obnoxious voice yell my name out.

I opened my eyes slightly when sunlight filtered into my eyes. We were on the roof?

"Put me down, Uchiha." I mumble sleepily. As soon as my butt touched ground, I curled up and fell back asleep.

I heard someone groan but payed no attention to it, I was too busy hearing voices scream my name. I curled tighter and frowned.

"Hey, you alright?" Naruto asked me, his voice surprisingly soothing. I opened my eyes and smiled tightly at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." I smiled at him again before adding, "Believe it…" I could hear his chuckle and turned to look at sensei.

Kakashi just frowned at me before motioning for me to sit up. I did so and sat Indian-style.

"So, we're gonna begin by introducing ourselves." He motioned to Naruto. Said blonde just sat there staring stupidly at him. Kakashi face-palmed.

"A bunch of idiots…" he muttered. Sakura looked at him carefully before speaking up.

"Why don't you go first, sensei, we don't know much about you." You don't know _anything _about him, moron. I thought, what a stupid statement.

"Hmm, well, my name's Hatake Kakashi, I have many dislikes and likes. I don't have any hobbies. My goal in life is… nothing you should worry about." He answered with his signature smile. Oh how I had come to hate that closed eye smile. It was so fake. _Not like I could complain, fake._

Everybody sweat-dropped; all we learnt was his name. Sakura stated everybody's thoughts. Kakashi merely shrugged before stating that it was Naruto's turn.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto, I ramen, and Akira," I smiled tiredly at him, still not rid of the Akatsuki's accusing voices from my head, "I dislike Sasugay, my hobby is… EATING RAMEN! And my goal is to become Hokage so people will respect me, BELIEVE IT!" When he stated his reason, Kakashi glanced at Naruto with an odd look on his face.

Next up was Sakura and she glared at Naruto and I, stared at Sasuke a bit before starting.

"Well, my name is Haruno Sakura," I mumbled something in my sleep, accidently cutting her off, "My likes are…" She turned to stare at Sasuke. I sniggered, even in my sleepy state I could hear what she was saying, behind her words.

"My hobbies are…" she stared at Sasuke some more. I thought it was time I spoke up.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, my likes are Sasuke, my hobbies are stalking Sasuke, my goal is to rape Sasuke and my dislikes are Naruto and Akira." I stated for her, annoyed with her rambling. The stupid voices were tipping me over the edge and I was kind of grumpy.

"My name is Miyuki Akira, I like things that I like and dislike things I dislike. My hobbies are not normal and my goal in life is unimportant to you guys. And girl." Everybody sweat-dropped at me but I shrugged and closed my eyes, trying to get rid of the images in my head.

_Be nice, Akira, these are your future team-mates._ I could just picture Itachi saying that.

I didn't really catch what Sasuke was saying but my eyes shot open at his last few words.

"And my goal is… to kill a certain someone." Sakura and Naruto shivered whilst Kakashi looked at Sasuke weirdly. I just glared at the young Uchiha, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"Kakashi, I'm leaving." I growled at the sensei before disappearing.

I reappeared in my room and picked up a picture frame from under my bed. I was in a small wooden box.

I dragged my finger over one of the people in the picture. He was hugging my from behind, his chin on my head. We were both covered in scratches, me more than him, but we were both smiling.

"Itachi…" I whispered as tears fell silently down my cheek. I felt a breeze and looked to my window. It was open and the wind blew coldly against my tear stained cheeks.

I didn't know, but there was someone outside, and he whispered my name quietly before disappearing.

"Akira…" I broke down onto the ground crying and cursing fate. I vowed then and there that I would do whatever it takes to become stronger and to get back to Itachi and help him.

"Ita-sensei, this is for you. Always and Forever, remember?"

I grabbed my jacket and jumped out the window. I headed towards the park. I sat down on the park bench before curling up and falling asleep.


	7. Chapter 6 - If You Love Me

Chapter 6 - If You Love Me: You'll Work Together With Me

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Recap:_

_I didn't know, but there was someone outside, and he whispered my name quietly before disappearing._

_"Akira…" I broke down onto the ground crying and cursing fate. I vowed then and there that I would do whatever it takes to become stronger and to get back to Itachi and help him._

_"Ita-sensei, this is for you. Always and Forever, remember?"_

_I grabbed my jacket and jumped out the window. I headed towards the park. I sat down on the park bench before curling up and falling asleep._

* * *

"Ugh... I feel weird... My head's spinning..." I sat up in my bed and groaned. This is so not a good morning.

"Why does it feel like I'm forgetting something... Was there something important Kakashi dude said yesterday during that meeting thing? I can't remember... I was half asleep." I shrugged my shoulders and stepped out of the warm covers.

Making my way into the bathroom I nearly screamed when I saw the reflection in the mirror. I had bits and pieces of things stuck in my hair, my shirt was inside out and I had a pair of panties on my head.

"Bleh." I commented in disgust. That was nasty.

After cleaning up and looking... Presentable, I sat down in the kitchen and ate some toast.

"Nom." I chewed slowly, reading a random book I found under my pillow.

"Hm, that's interesting, a girl getting eaten by a wolf but is then regurgitated." I paled a bit as the food in my stomach rolled around at the thought of regurgitation.

I finished reading the story before looking up at the clock on the wall. I sweat-dropped; It was already fifteen minutes to one and I hadn't even started heading toward... Uh, I can't remember where everyone was supposed to meet...

I scratched my head awkwardly but just figured I'd walk around aimlessly until I found wherever my team was to meet was.

When I finally find the training area, it was well past one o'clock and Sakura, Naruto and even Sasuke were already there.

"You're late." I had that shoved in my face as the pink headed fan girl glared at me, an irk mark appearing on her abnormally large forehead. I just looked past her indifferently.

"Listen, I don't actually know why you don't like me that much but it's not very attractive reprimanding every step I take." I paused thoughtfully, "Especially when I don't give a crap..." I trailed off when I noticed Naruto lying on the ground, nearly dead.

"Oi, Naru-kun." I nudged him gently with my left foot. "Wake up Naru-kun." He still didn't budge and I was starting to get just the teeniest bit annoyed. Sasuke looked at me weirdly before speaking up.

"He's not going to wake up. He's been like that for a while. Something about no ramen." He sniffed indifferently. Sakura looked at him with shining eyes. Was this the first time she heard him say more than two words? Oh yeah, it was.

"Come to think of it," he continued, now staring at me, "Weren't you dead yesterday? By the way, you owe me for taking you home." I looked at him surprised. He took me home yesterday? I was about to thank him but was cut off by a certain pinkette.

"Ch, you made Sasuke carry something as heavy as you all the way to your old house. Couldn't you have walked home by yourself?" She scoffed at me and flicked her hair.

I frowned at her. First she tags me a thing, then she insults me heavy, then she calls my house, the only thing that brings me peace, old. How dare she? With every thought I grew madder.

"Before my mood ruins my thanks, Thank-You little Uchiha, for taking me home yesterday. I didn't mean to fall asleep on that bench but I guess I was too busy thinking of other things."

I paused and took a deep breath, turning to fully face Sasuke.

"Hn," he stated, "You're stupid." I blinked. I just thanked him and he calls me stupid? Meh, oh well, this IS Sasuke we're talking about.

"Sakura," Now I turned back to face her, "I may not watch my diet as carefully as you, I may not care about my hair as much as you and I might not have parents to look after my house and keep it clean like you, but mark my words, I am as much of a ninja as you are."

She fumed, I could see that she hated the fact I just humiliated her in front of Sasuke. Speaking of, the little Uchiha was sniggering quietly. So un-Uchiha like of him.

Sakura was about to say something when Kakashi appeared.

"Oi! Sensei! You are late, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto's stomach ache seemed to have disappeared.

"Ahaha…" Kakashi sensei chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, "I'm sorry, I was walking through this road and a black cat crossed my path so-"

"That's bullshit sensei, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto fumed. Sakura temporarily forgot about me and joined in on scolding Kakashi.

I turned to look at Sasuke; he was already staring at me. Self-consciously I checked to see if I had anything on my face.

"Baka, stop worrying so much, your face is clean." I froze, how'd he know? Sasuke just laughed and patted my head before walking to the rest of our team.

"So your objective is to get these three bells off me by noon, by that I mean a bell each, which leaves you exactly 2 hours." Sakura complained about there not being enough bells for everybody but Kakashi just smiled.

Naruto laughed obnoxiously before charging at Kakashi with a kunai. The jounin just dodged him skilfully before slamming him on the ground.

"I didn't say start yet, Naruto." I laughed at him, he was acting so oblivious but it was kind of obvious he knew how powerful Naruto could be. Or maybe he was just tired.

"Start," he said and the three of us dispersed, heading to the safety of the trees. I turned to look back at Naruto, he was still in the clearing with the silver-head and he was headed for a minute of pain.

I turned back to face the tree I was leaning on. I had to figure out what this test was really about.

"That's it!" I cried before jumping back to the clearing to find Naruto. When I actually found him, he was muttering about Kakashi's book, something perverted, I think.

"Hey, Naruto, do you want to work with me?" He looked at me for a second before grinning widely. I thought he was going to say yes before he spoke.

"Sorry, Kira-Chan, but I want to be the Hokage one day which means that I have to be able to do this myself!" I sighed as he disappeared. I really didn't want to do this but I had to go ask Sakura. When I found her, she was spying on Sasuke from behind a tree.

"Hey, Sakura," I started out carefully. Before I could ask her, though, she cut me off.

"Listen, _Akira_, I don't know what you have with Sasuke, but he's mine, do you hear me?" I cringed at her glare but swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Sakura, it would be easier to get the bells if we work together, Kakashi **is** a jounin, you know." She just sneered at me.

"Like I would work with a tramp like you! I'll only work with Sasuke."

I sighed before walking away. The only person left to ask was Sasuke. I had already wasted half an hour and time was precious.

"Sasuke? God damnit where the-" I cut off as I nearly tripped over his head. "How the hell did you get down _there_, little Uchiha?" I chuckled at him. His body was buried in the ground and the only thing showing was his head.

"Quit laughing and help me up, baka." I complied but couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"So, Sasuke, do you want to work together?" He looked at me weirdly and I started growing agitated.

"Look, Akira, it may seem like I am willing to work with you but I'm not. I am an avenger so I can't be needing the help of others, especially weak ones." He poofed away, leaving me standing there fuming.

"How dare he? I am NOT weak, damnit. _**WHY THE HELL WON'T ANYBODY WORK TOGETHER WITH ME?!**_"

I heard a chuckle and turned to see Kakashi standing behind me. He was holding a little book in his hand. I could just make out the title and cringed, I was right, it was perverted.

"Don't laugh sensei; it looks like I have to fight you alone." He raised an eyebrow at me, mocking me.

I didn't say anything else; instead I pulled out a kunai and charged at him, sending small amounts of chakra to my feet so I could run faster.

Kakashi slipped his book in his pocket and slid up his head band. Oh, so I was important enough to taste his sharingan?

He and I charged at each other before I felt a force from behind me. I swerved to the right just in time to dodge his attack. I countered with a fire jutsu before hiding in its shadow. When I reached Kakashi, I threw four kunai at him, trying to pin him down. We exchanged punches and kicks and the both of us were starting to tire of the same thing.

"Ice Summon: Glacial Sword!" I summoned an ice sword. It wasn't as good as my Draconian blade but it will have to suffice. I sprang back before running at him, again adding chakra to my feet to boost my speed. HE caught the blade in his hands and melted it.

"Suiton: Water tunnel!" he pushed me back with the gigantic spiral of water. I skidded back a few more metres before coming to a halt. Wiping the sweat of my neck, I glared at him before smirking.

As I ran at him, I faked left before turning to the right and sending chakra coated shurikens at him. He merely dodged and moved his hand to form signs ram, horse and dragon.

"Earth release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" Kakashi cried and I moved myself to dodge the hot rocks sent flying toward me.

"What the hell? How the hell do you know that technique? Fine, I'll show you one of my very own."

"Snake, tiger, horse, monkey, ram, dragon, tiger, monkey, snake, horse, ram, dragon!" I muttered under my breath, smirking when I saw Kakashi's nervous face.

"Dimension release: Three Nightmares!" I laughed when I saw Kakashi cringe. He was seeing three people from his past fight, and kill each other, then the wounds he saw that were inflicted on them, would be transferred to his body.

I faltered when I saw him smile, what was happening? Why was he smiling?

"You know, you shouldn't try illusions on someone with the sharingan. Especially someone like me." I knew he was going to try something so I created a shadow clone.

Kakashi came flying at me, he was grinning like a madman. I reacted too late and he pinned me on the ground. I laughed in his face, he made a mistake and it'll cost him those bells.

"You know, Kakashi, with that sharingan activated, you should have figured out that I was a shadow clone, funny, someone else that was my sensei made the same mistake."

He turned to face my and fingered the loop where the rings used to sit. Instead, he came across three acorns that I had sneakily swapped with the bells. He turned back to me and narrowed his eyes, Zeroing on the three bells I had in my hand.

"See-ya soon, sensei." I waved a two finger salute at him and went back to find the others. Surprisingly, they were all at the starting point, although Naruto was tied to a post.

"Whose lunch did you try to eat, Naru-kun?" I laughed merrily at him. As I started to head over to untie him, Sakura stopped my, glaring at my face.

"You know, glaring counts as frowning and, as most people know, the more you frown, the more wrinkles you'll get. Oh! Is that one I see now?" I teased Sakura before poking her large forehead.

For some weird reason, I was in a good mood. I unclenched my hands and tossed a bell to each of them. Naruto caught it in his mouth, Sasuke caught his in mid-air and Sakura got hit bang smack on the head.

"Wahh?! Kira-Chan! How'd you get these? And why are you giving it to us?" Naruto gave me a cute confused look before frowning at the bell. Sasuke was about to speak but I cut him off.

"I gave them to you because we don't need them." They all looked at me curiously, "We failed."

"HUH?!" I felt someone appear next to me before he spoke up.

"Akira's right you guys. You all should forget about even being ninjas. Akira was the only one to realize the whole point of this survival test."

"Teamwork." Sakura stated and I looked at her. _No duh, Captain obvious._

"Aw, come on sensei, what the hell? We can be ninja, BELIEVE IT!" Sasuke still hadn't said anything so I turned to study his reaction. He was glaring at the bell and crushing it. You could feel the anger radiating off of him.

I walked over to him and placed my hands on his hands.

"Sasuke," I said softly, "Please don't worry, it'll be fine, trust me."

"Alright, I'll give you another chance; I need to go get something so you all have lunch. Except for Naruto, if anyone feeds him, you all fail." He disappeared as soon as the words left his mouth.

Sakura sat down and started eating right away. Sasuke soon followed suit but I just sat there, wondering what they were going to do. This was obviously a test, to see if they would understand teamwork or not.

I was surprised to see Sasuke offer his lunch to Naruto, and even more astonished when Sakura did the same. Naruto complained about not being able to eat so Sakura, reluctantly, fed him herself. I laughed at the look of pure happiness on Naruto's face.

I blinked as thunder and lightning suddenly appeared. "Was that necessary, sensei?"

"You…" Kakashi had a dangerous look on his face, "PASS! Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." I saw his eyes flash with something untouchable.

_You have experienced true pain before, haven't you Kakashi?_ I smiled at the scene before me; a perfect team, a great leader and students with high potential.

I looked back at myself; did I fit in this picturesque team? No. That was the truth and it didn't hurt at all. I didn't belong here; my place was beside Itachi, always and forever.

* * *

_**Hey guys and girls that are reading (Thank-You so much!) I just need to write a few things.**_

_**First off, thank-you to the reviewers! Mwahh! you guys are awesome.  
**_

_**Next chapter is way longer so it will take two weeks to upload. Please do not be mad at me. The length will most likely be twice as long as a normal chapter so it will take twice as long. Expect upload on 16/11 :D   
**_

_**Thanks again,  
Crimson  
**_


	8. Chapter 7 - If You Love Me

Chapter 7 – If You Love Me: You'll Share Your Room

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Recap:_

"You…" Kakashi had a dangerous look on his face, "PASS! Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." I saw his eyes flash with something untouchable.

_You have experienced true pain before, haven't you Kakashi?_ I smiled at the scene before me; a perfect team, a great leader and students with high potential.

I looked back at myself; did I fit in this picturesque team? No. That was the truth and it didn't hurt at all. I didn't belong here; my place was beside Itachi, always and forever.

* * *

"What's the distance of the target?" Kakashi's voice sounded through our ear-pieces.

"5 meters, Point A." Sasuke stated first.

"Me too. Point B." Sakura's voice said, loud and clear.

"Me… uh three? Point C." That was Naruto, his obnoxious voice I could easily recognise.

"Me TEN! Point… uh where are we again Mr kitten?" I said, sitting in front of the kitten. I reached out to it and it climbed onto my outstretched arm.

"Why hello little one, aren't you a cutie pie?" I cooed and scratched under its ears.

"Now!" Kakashi said all of a sudden and all four of them jumped out at me. I growled and stood up, hugging the cat close to me protectively.

"What the hell you guys? And girl. Why are you all screaming and running at me? If you want me so bad…" I trailed off when I saw Kakashi's murderous face.

"Why didn't you say anything, Akira? What the hell?" I clicked my ton at the silver head and pointed a finger at him, nearly dropping the kitty.

"It's not good to swear, Kakashi, especially when there are children around." I pointed toward Sakura.

"Whatever, Kira-Chan, is it Tora? I want some ramen and I am so hungry now, BELIEVE IT!" I sweat-dropped before confirming it was Tora. There was a ribbon on its ear.

When we handed the poor kitty back to the woman, she crushed it and started smooching it.

"Gross…" I grimaced and sympathised the little thing. Sasuke looked at me before smirking.

"Now we know why it ran away." He stated and smirked at me again.

"Sh… not so loud or she'll hear you!" I mock whispered. Said woman walked, uh wobbled, over to us and thanked us before glaring at Naruto. I watched her angrily. Why does everyone hate Naruto so much? How would they like it if THEY had a demon inside them?

"Ok. For Team 7, we have grocery shopping at the neighboring town, harvesting vegetables, picking up trash from the river…." Sarutobi-sama listed, not looking up from his huge pile of work.

"No! No! No! I want to do a more exciting mission! Isn't there something else?" Naruto interrupted while he crossed his arms and shook his head rapidly.

"He does have a point, Kakashi," I turned to face said ninja, "Even though we just became Genin, we need a more challenging mission."

"You've just very recently become ninja. Everyone needs to start with the easier missions to gain experience!" Iruka stated.

I walked over to the Hokage's desk and peered over the paperwork. Sarutobi glared up at me before breaking out into a knowing smile.

"Ne Hokage-sama. I know we've just become Genin, but it wouldn't it be best if we got a more challenging mission? We can take care of ourselves and Kakashi-sensei won't let anything happen to us." Sarutobi at my suggestion and shifted in his seat before standing up.

"Alright. I get it. If you insist, I'll allow you to take on a C ranked mission. You will be escorting someone back to their home village."

"Really? Who is it? A feudal lord? A princess?" Naruto asked excitedly.

I walked back to my team and smirked at Kakashi-sensei. He was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. He was about to speak up before the Hokage interrupted him.

"Don't get so hasty. I'll introduce him to you now. You may enter now." Sarutobi turned and called out to someone behind the door.

All of us turned around and watched the door. It slowly opened to reveal an old man carrying a bottle of liquor.

"He looks drunk…. Will he be ok to travel?" He looked around the room and snorted, obviously he wasn't happy with something.

"What the hell? They're all just kids!" He took a moment to take a sip from his bottle, "Hey, is the smallest one there with the idiotic face really a ninja?"

"Ahaha… who's the smallest one with the idiotic face?" Naruto asked looking around the room, trying to compare everyone's height.

All of us walked to Naruto to show him that he was the shortest. Sasuke was the tallest, followed by me, Sakura, and lastly Naruto. Before Naruto could charge at the man, I grabbed his arm in a tight grip before turning back to face the Hokage.

"Oi Kira-Chan let me go! I'm going to kill him, believe it!"

"Don't kill the man you're supposed to escort, Naruto." Kakashi-sensei stated with a sigh.

It seemed as if Naruto wasn't listening, since he continued to flail and yell, "I'm going to kill you!" at the drunken old man.

"Well, I'm Kakashi and glad to be of service." What were we, servants?

"Akira." I stated, not revealing my last name.

"The name's Naruto and you'd better remember it! Believe it!"

"Hi, my name's Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you." Tazuna sneered at her before turning to Sasuke.

"And you, the one with the permanent scowl, what's your name?" Sasuke glared at him and hmphed before stating his own name.

"I am the greatest bridge builder, Tazuna." All of us sweat-dropped at his arrogance, "Once I return to my country safely, I will have all of you protect my life with yours whilst I complete the bridge."

I looked at him, the way he said it sounded like he was being pursued or chased by someone. He was either not telling us something or just being paranoid. Then again, he could just be over using his power.

"Alright everyone, meet at the village gates in half an hour. Use that time to go home and get your supplies. Till then." With that Kakashi-sensei disappears with Tazuna.

We all looked at each other before shrugging and leaving.

When everyone arrived at the gate, we started out of the village and started heading towards our destination. We kept walking for what seemed like forever when all of a sudden, I passed by a puddle.

Hm a puddle? But...

I looked up at the sky and didn't see a cloud in the sky. It hadn't rained in over a week.

Something wasn't right. I slowly observed the surroundings. I was alert but nothing attacked us.

Suddenly, two people jumped out of the puddles that were on the ground. They both wrapped chains around Kakashi's body and sliced him straight in half. Everyone looked shock but I knew he wasn't dead. He couldn't be...

After that, they both ran in a different direction, going in for an attack on either side of us.

"Get behind me, sir!" Sakura said as she quickly positioned herself in front of Tazuna.

"Naruto, move!" I yelled.

Sasuke quickly jumped into the air as one of the ninjas flung its sword out at the bridge builder. He pushed it out of the way with a kunai and shuriken in one easy swipe. Sasuke then got in front of Sakura and Tazuna, in his own defensive stance.

Naruto's hand was bleeding as the other ninja stood over him, laughing to himself.

"Foolish boy." The ninja chuckled evilly, making my blood boil.

He raised his claw in the air, ready to swipe it down over Naruto and finish him off. I was in front of Naruto in a heartbeat in with my knives out.

I growled angrily at the enemy and gave him a death glare. He stopped out of surprise, but then laughed.

"As if _you _could stop me hime-sama," he chuckled.

Princess? Big mistake.

I lunged toward him and pushed him towards the trees. I kept attacking at him until his back was against the tree and I smirked. Once again, I started kicking and punching him over and over, aiming for his neck.

He ducked and cut the side of my body making me let out a high pitched yelp. My eyes filled up with anger and I gripped on to his neck before throwing him out of the forest back to where everyone else was.

When I stepped back out, Kakashi was back and already had the ninjas tied up.

"Tazuna, I need to speak to you." I growled at the nervous bridge builder. I walked over to him but Kakashi put out a hand to stop me.

"I'll talk to him, Akira, you stay here and make sure Naruto doesn't die from the poison."

I sighed before turning back to my team. Sakura was looking worn out and Sasuke was taunting Naruto.

"Oi, are you okay?" For a second I thought he cared, "Stupid Naruto." Then again, I guess he doesn't.

I walked up to Naruto and lifted his hand so I could look at the cut. It was probably poisoned. Kakashi returned with a grim look on his face. Tazuna was looking even more nervous than before, if that was possible.

"This has become a B-ranked mission, we have to head back to the village. You guys are not ready for such a high levelled mission as this one has become."

Sasuke growled under his breath while Sakura whole-heartedly agreed with Kakashi. She was obviously scared.

"No, I will not give up, I swear I will protect and escort Tazuna back to his home safely." With that, Naruto sliced the wound on his hand open with a kunai. I winced and shook my head.

"Naruto; that was a good idea, to let the poison out, but if you lose any more blood, you are going to die."

Naruto panicked when he heard Kakashi and ran around in circles before Sakura stopped him and started bandaging up his hand.

I chuckled before turning to look at our sensei. Sasuke was about to say something but I beat him to it.

"Look, Kakashi-sensei, you may think we aren't ready and all but our team is. Team 7 is progressing at an extremely commendable rate and it would be wise for you to let us continue this mission."

I paused and took a glance at Kakashi's expression. He was contemplating my words.

"And besides, if we head back to the village now, it will waste time." I turned to look at Tazuna, "Don't you need to finish your bridge right away." He nodded and turned to the silver headed jounin with pleading eyes.

"Hmm… Alright, I guess we'll continue this mission." Naruto and Sakura turned to look at him, their eyes big. Kakashi lifted up a hand to stop them from saying anything. "But, you have to promise me that you will do exactly as I say. This is a dangerous mission now."

Everybody nodded and we started moving again, this time at a much faster pace. I slowed down and met Kakashi's steps. Tazuna was talking to Sasuke and Sakura and Naruto was being paranoid so I was safe to talk to Kakashi without them hearing me.

"What are you so worried about? This team has two jounin and three very capable Genin, we can take care of ourselves. Besides, team 7 learns fast." I reminded Kakashi that I wasn't a Genin like all the other students he had.

Kakashi just smiled at me before patting my head. I cringed at the action but didn't push his hand away.

"Okay, Akira. You go ahead; I need to think for a while." Kakashi gave me a reassuring smile and I turned to catch up to the rest of my team.

"She really is a different one." Kakashi muttered and I smiled.

We continued heading towards Tazuna's home, although the boat trip through the mist was slightly uncomfortable.

"There!" Naruto yelled and threw a kunai at a bush.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura scolded him before bonking him on the head.

"So violent…" I whispered. She turned around and glared at me, a big glint in her eyes.

"What did you say?" She asked; her voice dangerously low. I ignored her and walked toward the bush to retrieve the kunai Naruto had thrown. I gasped when I saw it had struck a rabbit on the side.

"Wait a second…" What was a snow rabbit doing here at this time of year? Kakashi sent me a look and I narrowed my eyes.

Before I could say anything, Naruto ran up to me and hugged the rabbit, pulling out the kunai and crying.

"Oh no! Rabbit-Chan, I didn't mean to hurt you, believe it!" All of a sudden, mist filled the air and I sensed danger.

"Duck!" Kakashi and I both yelled at the same time as a sword came flying past us. The mist dispersed and Kakashi cursed loudly.

"Zabuza." He growled, glaring at the ninja who had appeared before us.

"Well, well….. If it isn't Zabuza Momochi. Rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi said as he took a step towards Zabuza. Naruto started running towards Zabuza until Kakashi stopped him

"Naruto stay back."

"But why?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"He's not like those other ninjas. He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent I'll need this." Kakashi said.

"This could be dangerous." He continued as he slowly raised his hand, gripping his headband.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right?" Zabuza asked. Sasuke gasped a little and glared at Kakashi.

"It too bad huh, but you'll have to hand over the old man." Zabuza demanded. Kakashi was about to reply when Sasuke cut him off.

"Why do you have the sharingan? You are not an Uchiha, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi sighed and motioned for me to explain to him what had happened.

I opened my mouth to start explaining the over-complicated and rather sad story of Obito. Before I could actually say anything though, I felt a rush of chakra as Zabuza appeared behind me.

"My, my. Could you be the missing daughter?" I shivered with disgust as he grabbed my ponytail and stroked my hair.

I felt Sasuke tense. Turning on my heel, I flipped my leg up to kick him in the stomach. As I expected, it was a clone.

"How do you know about Akira, Zabuza?" Kakashi questioned him, his eyes narrowing to slits.

"Well, the Leiko clan was pretty famous for the huge amount of power they possessed as well as their Kekkei Genkai." He paused and turned to look at me, smiling maliciously.

Sasuke growled at him and threw a kunai. Zabuza dodged whilst continuing his speech.

"I for one know that you have a huge power inside you, but as of yet, Akira Miyuki, you have not been assigned to my mission list."

"Shut the hell up and get on with this damn fight, Zabuza." I hissed at him before trying to run at him. Kakashi grabbed my arm and held me back.

"This is my fight; Zabuza is too strong for you Genin." I was about to protest before realizing what he was doing.

"No, Kakashi, let me fight him first, I want to speak to him." Said ninja stared at me with a hard look before nodding his head.

"Be careful," Was all he said. I turned to face Zabuza, matching his sadistic grin with one of my own.

"Well, Zabuza, you should feel lucky. You're about to taste my real power." I smiled obnoxiously at him before grabbing my Draconian blade. Channelling my chakra into it, I felt Sakura and Sasuke's breath hitch. They could feel the wind power from my sword.

"Wait a second, princess," Zabuza told me, just before I rushed at him, "You want to know why two warring families actually made peace? It wasn't through the marriage."

He took out a scroll from his pocket, there was some writing on it but before I could read anything, he tossed it to me.

"I'll give you 2 minutes to read it before we start." He said.

Naruto was complaining how it was boring and Sakura was hitting him. Sasuke was… being Sasuke. I held in a laugh as I listened to their useless complaining.

"This contract is to be held as proof for the unity of the Leiko and Miyuki clans. If by any chance the first child of Hikari and Kaoru dies, this contract shall be come void of validity." I read out, my eyes widening. I was the first child. Therefore, if I die, both my parents clans would go back to warring.

"I never knew. This was why I was never allowed out. This was why my parents never let me eat anything different. Who the heck made up this shit anyway?" I glared at Zabuza before throwing the scroll back to him.

"And why the hell do you have the scroll, Zabuza?" I growled at him before launching myself into the air. Compressing the atmosphere below my feet, I hovered above everyone, moving my hands into signs.

Zabuza threw some shuriken at me before disappearing. His arm connected to my back and as I fell, his knee came up to my gut. I threw out my elbow and hit him on the jaw. Quickly finishing the hand signs, I threw my arms out above my head. I could feel Zabuza honing in on me from below.

"Crystal Release: Spears of Hate!" As soon as the words left my mouth, a thousand glistening crustal spears surrounded Zabuza. They all flew at him, leaving no room for him to escape.

"Water Release: Water sphere shield." I heard Zabuza mutter before seeing my spears shatter and fall.

I growled at him and ran at him, using gravity to heighten my speed. With my blade in front of me in one hand, I used my other hand to deflect the stream of kunai rushing at me.

I closed up on Zabuza, readying my sword for his heart. A heavy feeling set around me and I cried out as millions of water shards hit my body. Refusing to go down, I continued at Zabuza, channelling more chakra into my blade.

As I came nearer to him, I felt power rush through me and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I felt faster, lighter and more agile. Thrusting my blade into him I heart a satisfactory pop before Zabuza's scream filled the air.

Twisting my leg to kick him in the head, I flung my free elbow to his nose. I felt different, I felt free.

I became too caught up in throwing hits at Zabuza; I didn't feel the chakra source that had appeared behind me. As I readied myself to give the final blow, I felt something run right through me. Hot blood dripped down the front of my shirt.

"AKIRA!" I heard someone scream before my body felt heavy again. As whatever that had pierced my chest was pulled out, I felt my body healing, draining chakra from my storages and healing the wound.

I looked up one last time to see Zabuza mouth 'contract' before my eyes became heavy and shut.

I was out for a long time. My strength needed to be replenished and my chakra pools needed to be refilled. By the time I gained consciousness, the atmosphere was different. I was no longer at the battle site.

"Hey I think she's waking up." I heard an unfamiliar voice say. There was some rustling above my head before light poured through my eyelids.

"Wake up Akira, you've been out longer than Kakashi." What? Kakashi was knocked out as well? What the hell happened?

I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to the light in the room. Seeing Naruto's smiling face had me grinning tiredly.

"Hey, Naru-kun, what'd I miss?" I reached out to ruffle his hair but he grabbed my arm and pulled me up instead.

"Well, after you fainted, Kakashi and Zabuza had this huge fight. Of course, I helped too." I heard someone yell and felt Naruto get hit in the head, knocking his forehead on mine and causing me to yell in pain.

"Oi, whoever that was, don't hurt the crippled." I scolded the person, already knowing it was Sakura.

"Oh please, you weren't even hurt; I don't know why you bothered to feign sleep for so long." I narrowed my eyes at Sakura. She was being a prick.

"Listen, Sakura," I dragged out her name on purpose, smiling at her agitated face, "You just stood there throughout that whole battle, I bet you didn't even help Sasuke or Naruto. How dare you reprimand me? You have no right to do anything except for; sit in a corner and feel ashamed." I had risen to stand in front of her, glaring down at her face.

The pinkette cowered under my gaze, turning her eyes to look at the floor.

"Pathetic. If you're going to challenge someone, at least keep it up till the end." I scoffed and turned to go look for Kakashi.

"Oi! Kaka-sensei, what's going to happen with sleeping arrangements?" I asked the silver head but he just mumbled something and swatted me away. I stood there and stared at him, carefully analysing his wounds before locking the door to the room.

Kakashi looked at me warily before sighing and sitting up. I was beside him in 2 seconds and supporting all of his weight.

"You know, for an old man you sure do weigh a lot." I teased him before casually healing some of the major wounds.

"Since when do you know medical ninjutsu, Akira?" He glanced warily at me before shift8ing into a more comfortable position.

"Kakashi, I am doing this for you because I really don't want to put up with three very immature team mates because you aren't alive to teach us." I purposely jabbed one of his bruises and grinned in satisfaction when he winced.

"Okay, you wanted to know about the sleeping arrangements, right? Well, girls share, boys share, I get my own room. Done deal."

"Uh, not done deal, I have two things to say to you. One, are you implying you are not a girl or a boy," He glared at me before shaking his head, "And two, if you put Sasuke and Naruto in the same room alone for more than ten minutes, let's just say I won't be the one cleaning up the blood and burying the corpses."

The silver head jounin chuckled lowly under his mask. He sat up straighter and opened his eye to look at me carefully.

"Okay, so let me guess, you can't be in the same room as Sakura, if I put you in a room with Naruto, who knows what antics you two will get up to…" He pondered on the thought for a bit before grinning at me weirdly.

"You could always room with me…" I backed away from him and threw a kunai at his head.

"No fucking WAY, you PERVERT!" Kakashi chuckled at me before sliding back under his covers.

"Guess that means you're stuck with the Uchiha then." I glared at him but didn't complain. It was the better of all my choices. Casually, I waved at him behind my back before slamming the door extra hard.

"AKIRA!" I grabbed Sasuke by the collar and ran to out room. I locked the door and checked it twice before flopping onto one of the beds and turning to look at Sasuke.

"Hehehe, Kakashi put us in a room together but I guess we forgot about Sakura's reaction."

Sasuke just looked at me before opening the window and jumping out.

"Stupid Uchiha, all he cares about is training." I grumbled before unpacking my small bag and taking a shower.

When I stepped out of the shower, Sasuke was sitting on his bed, looking his usual grumpy self.

"You take forever." He stated before pushing past me into the shower.

"What the fuck is your PROBLEM, Uchiha?!" I screamed at him. Shaking my head, I sighed and slid under the covers of the bed. Within seconds I had fallen asleep; for once it was peaceful and dreamless.

The next few days, Kakashi sensei stayed in bed and healed at the pace of my uncle's grandma, (technically my great-grandmother) and soon, before we knew it, he was up and going.

The first thing he said to the four of us when he woke up really made me regret healing his major wounds.

"Okay team, today we are learning how to climb trees." I sweat-dropped and trudged back to my room, signalling for Kakashi to awaken me from my hibernation when our team finished learning a preschool chakra control trick.

"Wake me up when tomorrow comes." I laughed loudly before retreating to the confines of Sasuke's and my room. This is going to be one heck of a long wait, knowing the blonde knucklehead and the young Uchiha.


	9. Chapter 8 - If You Love Me

Chapter 8 – If You Love Me: You'll Fight For Me

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Recap:_

_The next few days, Kakashi sensei stayed in bed and healed at the pace of my uncle's grandma, (technically my great-grandmother) and soon, before we knew it, he was up and going._

_The first thing he said to the four of us when he woke up really made me regret healing his major wounds._

_"Okay team, today we are learning how to climb trees." I sweat-dropped and trudged back to my room, signalling for Kakashi to awaken me from my hibernation when our team finished learning a preschool chakra control trick._

_"Wake me up when tomorrow comes." I laughed loudly before retreating to the confines of Sasuke's and my room. This is going to be one heck of a long wait, knowing the blonde knucklehead and the young Uchiha._

* * *

"There. Did it," I said, watching my team's reactions closely. Kakashi had managed to drag my lazy butt out of bed and into the forest to train.

Naruto was gaping at me with his eyes wide open whilst Sasuke just seemed to glare in annoyance at me. Was that a bit of jealousy I saw?

"Good job Akira," Kakashi stated, the slight twitch in his eye gave his surprise away, "You have very strong control over your chakra."

"Thanks sensei," I said, thinking back to that one time when he had caught me training with chakra threads.

"Well, it seems that the best at chakra control is Akira, a girl, and Sakura seems to have mastered it as well." Kakashi-sensei started before I cut him off.

"What do you mean by a girl? Girls can be very capable ninjas," I said, frowning at him. For once, Sakura wasn't arguing with me. I smirked.

"You're right. I'm sorry, that was pretty sexist," He apologised, scratching the back of his head, not looking sorry at all. "It seems Akira is the closest to becoming Hokage, unlike someone I know. And the Uchiha clan is just disappointing. You can't even keep up with Sakura. It's not all that cracked up after all."

I cringed. Even though Kakashi-sensei was trying to motivate them to work harder, he was seriously not going about it the right way. I turned to face Sakura and flinched again. Kakashi was not going to live to see dinner.

"There's no way you'll ever see me become Hokage," I scoffed, trying to lessen the growing tension, "I'd rather become a charity case."

Being totally honest, Hokage was the last thing I wanted to become. "And the Uchiha clan is really powerful," I said, in pure seriousness. Itachi had proved this point and Sasuke was just about confirming it. "I mean sure, most of them were arrogant pricks, with sticks up their arses, but... but not all of them were."

I thought back to all my memories with Ita-sensei and thought about all the sacrifices Itachi had made. Turning away from my team I glared at a tree and forced my tears to disperse and return to wherever they were before.

"Some Uchiha are strong and know the real meaning of strength as well as compassion and loyalty," I said, fully aware of Sasuke's eyes boring straight into me. "You know that right, sensei?"

"Hmm," was all Kakashi-sensei sensei said. I took that as a yes.

I spent the next twenty or so minutes watched my teammates intently. Sakura kept a considerable distance from me and stared at Sasuke as if he was Casanova.

"I understand that you have learnt this technique but its best to keep practicing and make it better," Kakashi-sensei said, sitting down next to me.

"If you say so sensei," I replied, making a clone and ordering it to climb the tree for me. Kakashi-sensei sighed, but didn't say anything else.

I had been observing Naruto and Sasuke for a while now and I was pretty certain I knew what each of them were doing wrong. They were improving, I gave them that, but not by much.

There was an obvious lack of focus from each of them. Or maybe it was that they were focusing too hard on actually doing it and not controlling the chakra.

I got up, leaving them for now, and went back to the old man Tazuna's house to fetch him.

"Hey Tazuna-san," I said, walking casually through the front door. My Draconian blade was strapped to my back, something I'd carry everywhere with me, a reminder that I still belonged to two powerful clans and I had a duty to uphold.

Tazuna was sitting at the kitchen table scribbling furiously, papers scattered about everywhere.

I peered over his shoulder and saw that these were blueprints of the bridge.

"Kakashi-sensei said that we can go to the bridge," I said, still trying to understand the messy tumble of scrawling.

At first I thought he hadn't heard me, but he was on his feet ready to go before I could blink, equipment packed and everything. Civilian? Right...

"Alright then, what are we waiting for? I don't have all day! You kids these days don't know what it means to work."

"Just lead the way already, old man," I sighed, biting back a rude retort, and followed him.

As we walked towards the bridge, Tazuna made it his duty to explain to me his joys in making the bridge. The construction was close to finishing and they just needed a little bit more time to complete it.

That of course, was why we were here. To protect the few brave workers that remained. It apparently would take only a few more weeks to finish up.

This was the biggest and longest bridge he had built so far, and Tazuna was determined to get it right.

"Many people are counting on me, whether they'll admit it or not." He boasted, utterly serious. I glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow.

Tazuna didn't look like hero material. He was old and He liked to drink. He had attitude almost as awful as Sakura's.

But he gave people hope, that was what they needed most right now and he gave them that.

"You're brave," I stated quietly, after deciding on the word to label him as, "You're brave for a civilian man."

He was risking his life for his village despite the dangers and hardships. Yes, Tazuna was as hero as you could get.

I looked up at the clouds. If only I could become someone like that. Accepting my burden and forgetting the troubles that lay around me. If only.

There really wasn't much to do. I walked around the bridge, getting used to the area. There was a tense atmosphere, as if something were waiting for a battle. Apart from watching the clouds or practicing my chakra threads, the only thing left to do was watch Tazuna and his workers.

There weren't many of them working, but they did get work done pretty quickly and efficiently. Most of the men seemed tense and for some reason I didn't think it was because of the strain of their work.

I observed each man quietly, tracing the details of their faces and the lines of sweat running down their chins.

"Tazuna!" a worker approaching the area where I was quietly sitting, called out.

"What is it Takuma?" Tazuna questioned tiredly.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I think it's for the best if I stop working at the bridge... My family are getting pretty worried about me."

My eyes snapped towards him. He looked like he was in his late forties, nearing fifties. He had a deep tan, probably from working outside in the sun all day. He was trembling slightly, but I didn't know if it was because he was scared of Gatou or Tazuna, because the look Tazuna was sending him looked pretty deadly.

"Not you as well! You can't give up now!" Tazuna exclaimed angrily.

"Look, we've been close for a while now," Takuma said, voice shaking a bit, "But we're bound to get noticed soon... And if we get killed then we would have done all of this work for nothing. Why don't we just quit building the bridge?"

"No, I can't do that," said Tazuna, shaking his head. "I can't let them down."

"Let who down?" Takuma demanded, his eyebrows furrowed. I frowned and stood up from my seat under the shade of a tree.

Tazuna ignored his question, "This is our bridge. The one we built all together, the one in which we believed would be the answer to all our country's problems. I, no, we can't stop now, we've come too far."

He sent Takuma home, saying that he wouldn't be needed any longer.

The both of us continued to work, carrying planks around. Soon enough, Sakura came to fetch us and we all headed back to the house.

"Uh…" I sweat-dropped, Sasuke and Naruto were stuffing their mouths with food that they probably wouldn't hold down.

"Y-y-you guys…" Sakura muttered, a glare on her and an irk mark on her forehead.

"Hey, Kakashi, watch this; three, two, one, vomit." Right on my cue, both boys turned and spewed out all their food onto the floor behind them.

Kakashi sighed and stood up. He turned and apologized to Tsunami before dragging both boys up the stairs by the ear.

Sakura stared at the pile of vomit and frowned. She obviously didn't like the thought of cleaning it up.

I smirked and waved a two finger wave at her before bolting up to the bedroom. Sasuke was sitting on his bed, clutching his stomach and groaning. I laughed at him before running to get a towel.

"You know, Sasuke, if you just relax and take it easy, you might find that training will become a lot easier." He scoffed at my advice.

"You know, Akira," He mocked, "If you just mind your own business, you might find dealing with everyone a lot easier."

I growled at him and threw the towel at his face. If he didn't want my help, fine. I crawled into the bed and closed my eyes. I had a feeling I would need energy for tomorrow.

"Rise and shine, Princess." My eyes snapped open and instinctively a punched the person who had spoken. 'Princess' was kind of a switch word for me.

"What the hell?" Sasuke groaned and backed away.

"Shut up idiot and go away."

"No, Akira, Kakashi said that we'd all be going to the bridge today so you had better get your butt up." I sat up slowly and sighed slightly. 2 minutes awake and I'm already sighing.

"Well maybe I could change if you went out of the room." I growled pathetically before standing up and turning to face him.

"No." He stated simply and crossed his arms.

"What the hell do you mean 'no'?" I shook my head and shrugged. He asked for it. Slowly lifting up my shirt I heard Sasuke gulp. Reaching to take my singlet off, I heard the door open before slamming shut. Chuckling slightly, I finished changing and headed out.

"Oh, that's nice, just leave without me, why don't you?" I said, pissed off.

"Well, if you're all going to be inconsiderate like that, I guess I'll just eat breakfast and take my time." I put my Draconian blade down and sat in the chair.

Tsunami smiled kindly at me before setting a bowl of soup and two pieces of toast in front of me.

"Thanks Tsunami-san." I smiled at her and dug in. It was delicious!

I reached for a napkin and wiped my mouth. Picking up my blade, I said good-bye to Tsunami before heading to the bridge.

Jumping from the roofs of the houses, I felt the air thicken and frowned. Something was happening. When I reached the bridge, there was so much fog I could barely see. I heard the sound of kunai clashing and closed my eyes.

"I trained with Itachi for a reason." Picturing everything with my eyes closed, I headed towards a glass dome thing.

"Sasuke!" I yelled, "Are you in there?" There were groans and grunts of pain before he answered.

"Yeah, but don't come in or else we'll both be stuck." I shook my head, what did he mean?

Shaking off the nagging feeling, I stepped into the dome, immediately getting pelted with needles and senbon.

"What the heck is this?" I screamed before plucking them out and hurling them back at the glass. Another wave of needles flew toward me and I deflected them with my blade. As I dodged and returned the senbon, I located Sasuke and gasped. He was in bad condition.

"Oi, teme, I told you to stay out. Now we have to rely on Naruto." I sent him a questioning look and jumped to where he was.

"Why, is Naruto not here yet?" He shook his head no and jumped to evade another wave of needles.

"Who the hell is throwing all these senbon?" I shouted before realising that someone was in the mirrors.

"Oh my lord, a boy of this age knows the Crystal Techniques?" I shook my head in disbelief.

"Rat-Ram-Horse-Tiger-Dragon." The hand-signs came naturally to me. As my hands slammed onto the ground, I kicked out a leg and pushed Sasuke out of the way. A large spear came flying to the spot he had once been in.

My speed had increased by three hundred per cent and everything was clearer to me.

"Sasuke, do you know when Naruto is coming?" He shook his head in response before turning back to the mirrors, trying to locate Haku.

"Impossible!" Haku cried out as Sasuke threw a kunai at him. His sharingan was activated and he was frowning in concentration.

"Move out of the way!" I screamed at him. This was going on for too long. There was one jutsu I could use to help us but it would suck away nearly all of my chakra.

"Dragon-Ram-Snake-Ram-Tiger-Dragon-Horse!" I yelled out, my voice full of desperation. As our surroundings flickered and darkened I felt the atmosphere change.

"What the-" Sasuke muttered as he felt his body become light weight. Haku continued to throw needles out from the surrounding mirrors. Bracing himself for the pain, Sasuke was surprised when the needles went right through him.

"As long as no one disturbs the atmosphere inside these mirrors, my jutsu should hold up just fine." I told him before passing out.

As darkness flickered into sight, I heard Naruto's voice. Was he going to enter? No! Don't, Naruto!

**Hey you guys, and girls, I apologize for the really late update. I've been sick the past week and end of year exams have been going on. I promise the next update will be really soon though. Thank you to those who have stayed with me :D**


	10. Chapter 9 - If You Love Me

Chapter 9 – If You Love Me: You'll Be There

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

**I really apologize for this being a filler. This was kind of boring but necessary as Itachi will be appearing to Akira very soon. The Hokage is also going to take action. But what kind?**

_Recap:_

_"Move out of the way!" I screamed at him. This was going on for too long. There was one jutsu I could use to help us but it would suck away nearly all of my chakra._

_"Dragon-Ram-Snake-Ram-Tiger-Dragon-Horse!" I yelled out, my voice full of desperation. As our surroundings flickered and darkened I felt the atmosphere change._

_"What the-" Sasuke muttered as he felt his body become light weight. Haku continued to throw needles out from the surrounding mirrors. Bracing himself for the pain, Sasuke was surprised when the needles went right through him._

_"As long as no one disturbs the atmosphere inside these mirrors, my jutsu should hold up just fine." I told him before passing out._

_As darkness flickered into sight, I heard Naruto's voice. Was he going to enter? No! Don't, Naruto!_

* * *

I was walking, from nowhere to nowhere. There was nothing behind or in front of me. Just darkness.

"You are a contradiction."

I tossed and turned mentally, wishing for the voices to leave my head. It's been so long, why do they have to come back now?

"You are nothing but useless trash."

My physical body remained motionless but my subconscious struggled in pain.

"You should never have been born."

I couldn't stand the pain anymore. It hurt so bad, the darkness started closing in and I felt myself losing.

Everything started shaking and crumbling and new voices entered my hearing.

"Wake up, Akira, wake up." The shaking worsened and I reached out to grab something, only to find, yet again, nothingness.

"God damnit, Aki-chan, WAKE UP!" I blinked several times as light filtered through my eyelids.

"Your awake," Naruto grinned at me. I smiled tiredly back at him before sitting up. I looked around and nearly jumped out of my skin. The whole village was surrounding my team.

"Hey Naruto, what happened? I passed out after my jutsu activated." Naruto looked down, ashamed, before scratching the back of his head.

"You see, about that..." Before he could continue, I felt a groan from beside me.

"Sasuke-kun?!" A shriek filled the air and I winced at the level of noise. I turned to look at the boy lying beside me and gasped softly.

"What the hell?" I thought my jutsu had done the trick but no, Sasuke looked horrible, there were so many wounds on his body. I blinked as I suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, did any of you guys call me Aki-Chan when you were trying to wake me?" They all shook their heads in response and I frowned. Then who?

"I'm awake, Sakura," He said softly, looking down at the girl sobbing into his chest.

"You had me so worried, Sasuke!" She cried out and hugged him tighter, causing him to wince in pain.

"Uh, Sakura?" I prodded her, only to have her snap back at me.

"Shut up, Akira, it was your fault he nearly died. He got hurt protecting your sorry ass." I was about to retort but bit off my remark, she was right. It was my entire fault that Sasuke was hurt like this, it was my fault that Naruto got hurt, that everyone got hurt. All of this was my fault.

"Yeah, Sakura, I guess I have no comment for that, I guess I really set back the team, huh?" I blinked back the tears and looked down at my hands. I couldn't bear to look at Sasuke; he was probably so disappointed in me.

"Hey, Aki-" Sasuke started but I silenced him by putting up my hand. Slowly, I stood up and brushed myself off. I needed some time away from this team, to yell at myself for failing. After all that training with Ita-sensei…

"Hey, Sakura, you're being mean to Akira," Naruto turned to look at me, I couldn't tell his expression because I was looking away. "You were awesome out there Kira-Chan. Sasuke would be dead if it wasn't for your jutsu! Believe it." I smiled drily. Pity, everyone was sending wave after wave of pity to me. It felt utterly horrible.

"I'll be back soon, if I'm not back by tomorrow night, go home without me." I stated emotionlessly before walking through the townspeople towards the forest. As soon as my feet hit the damp forest soil, I picked up my pace and was soon sprinting, not looking at where I was headed.

"Aki-Chan!" I paused and stopped, my feet skidding. Where was that voice coming from? And why was it calling out my old nickname?

"Ita…chi?" I called out hesitantly, not wanting to be disappointed. I followed the sound of the voice as it kept calling out my name.

"Aki, Aki, Aki-Chan!" I gasped, a crow was sitting on a branch and it was singing my name.

"Wait a second…" I wondered, "Aren't crows Itachi's signature summoning?" I pondered on this thought a bit before the crow flew onto my shoulder.

"Aki-Chan, how have you been? Has the village been treating you well?" I nearly cried of happiness. It **was **Itachi; he had sent this crow to me!

"Oh, Ita, I miss you so much, he reminds me of you so badly." I whimpered and stroked the crow's sleek feathers.

"So much has happened, sensei, I'm not even sure how to explain it! It started off so weird. Your brother and I had a match the first day I went to academy. He was really weak back then and it's surprised me how much he's grown." I paused and smiled tenderly at the bird that was now in my lap.

"He really is your brother Itachi. I only wish he could be kind like you. Hopeful thinking, isn't it?" I leaned back and looked at the pieces of sky that were peering through the treetops.

"I made lots of new friends and my team is perfect. Team 7 is all I could ever hope for. Maybe I don't get along with Sakura very well but I guess without her the team wouldn't be complete." Again I started stroking the bird's feathers. The soft sensation had calmed my misery. Itachi always seemed to manage to make me forget about my worries and problems.

"I miss you so much, Ita, so, so, so goddamn much!" Tears streamed down my face and I curled up into a ball, clutching the crow softly.

"If only you were here, I would be able to tell you so much." I laughed sadly.

"Don't cry, Aki-Chan, we will see each other soon. I miss you very much too, take care now, I have to go, but keep Daichi with you so that I'll always know that you're safe." I gasped and sucked in a breath. If I had any doubts about it being Itachi, they were all gone now.

"So your name is Daichi, huh? Well nice to meet you, I hope we'll get to be great buddies." I grinned at the black feathered bird and stood up, it was time to go back to my team.

"I'm back!" I sang as I waltzed into Tazuna's house. Drying my shoes off and slipping up to the room, I hummed a familiar song.

"Where the hell were you, Kira-Chan? We were so worried." I laughed as Naruto pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's alright now, Naru-kun, everything is fixed now." He looked at me weirdly before shaking his head. Drawing his attention to the crow on my shoulder, he cooed softly.

"Aww, where'd you find the birdie, he's so cute!" I laughed softly and patted Naruto's head. Moving to the side of him, I continued up the stairs to my room.

"Hey Akira," Kakashi greeted me at the top of the stairs, looking quickly at Daichi before narrowing his eyes. I didn't allow my heart to increase, he may know something but it is still only a suspicion.

"Hey sensei, sorry about running out before, I just had some things to deal with." I grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of my head. He laughed loudly before ruffling my hair and sending me on my way.

Shaking my head slowly, I entered the bedroom and started changing my clothes. The lights were off so it didn't really matter if Sasuke walked in. The bathroom door clicked open and said Uchiha sauntered out. He faltered when he saw me but shrugged, walking over to his bed and feigning ignorance.

About two seconds later, he shot up and glared at me.

"Where did you get that crow?" He growled, eyes narrowing, similar to the way Kakashi's eyes had been only moments ago.

"First of all," I glared at him, "Daichi is not a thing, second of all, he has nothing to do with you so you don't have to know."

Okay, so that was a lie, Daichi was from Itachi and Itachi has everything to do with little Uchiha here but I wasn't exactly going to tell him that.

"Anyways…" I drawled before sitting down on my bed with a flop.

"What happened whilst I passed out? How'd that masked kid get you so injured?" I winced as he glared at me but held my ground.

"None of your business." He growled before rolling over and pulling up the covers. "And make sure that bird doesn't poop on me while we're asleep."

"You know, if you say that, Daichi just might be tempted to do exactly the opposite." I chuckled as he visibly grimaced. Patting Daichi's feathers once, I too turned on my back and let darkness welcome me.

As the soft sunlight shone through the blinds of our room, both me and Sasuke groaned. This was the day our team was supposed to go home and we dreaded it. We had only just gotten into the routine and now we were going to have to change it back.

"Shotgun on bathroom." I stated before zipping into the shower and washing the drowsiness away.

"Sasuke!" I growled and heard him gulp loudly.

"Hn?" He asked nonchalantly, feigning innocence. I stepped out of the bathroom, still fully clothed, and walked straight up to him.

"What did you do to Daichi?" I poked him hard in the chest, glaring at his poker face.

"What do you mean?" He muttered, averting his gaze and pushing me away from him slightly.

"You know exactly what I mean, little Uchiha, you can't hide it from me, where is Daichi?" he just shook his head and flew to the bathroom, leaving me speechless and annoyed.

"I can't believe he stole the bathroom too!" I groaned and slapped my forehead, cursing my stupidity. Slipping on my clothes I picked up my blade and trudged dejectedly down the stairs.

"Kira-neechan!" I heard a voice yell loudly before I found myself on the ground with Inari sitting on me.

"Oi, Inari, I never told you to sit on Kira-Chan, I just said to say good-morning!" I turned to face Naruto and grinned. What a welcome.

"So," I drawled slowly, pushing Inari off me gently, "What's for breakfast." Just as Naruto was about to answer, Tsunami came in with some noodles and milk.

Crinkling my nose up, I sniffed the food and was surprised that the combination worked well.

"Milk and noodles, well I never." I laughed and dug in, my gosh it was delicious!

I heard footsteps and looked up to greet Sakura and Kakashi. I shook the thought from my head, it was just a coincidence they came down the stairs together. I mean, Kakashi is centuries old, right?

"Morning all." Kakashi greeted before plopping down on the seat to my left. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you up on time for once, sensei?" I mocked him teasingly, laughing loudly when he grimaced and turned away from me.

"Don't remind me." He growled softly and started eating. I looked back down at my plate and frowned. Where was Sasuke? He was taking an awfully long time in the bathroom.

My eyes widened in realization and I was about to go and find him when a black blob of feathers landed in my face.

"Daichi, what ARE you doing, my fine feathered friend." He was about to answer but I sent him a look and he just squawked.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and stared at the small bird for a long time. Shrugging slowly, he continued to eat.

"Well," I stated, standing up and grabbing my bowl, "I'm full, I guess I'll just go fetch Sasuke from somewhere in the woods now seeing as he's probably lost."

Kakashi gave me a disapproving look and Sakura just glared at me. I smiled sweetly at her, patted Naruto's head twice before walking out the door.

"We'll be back before you guys are done packing your stuff." I winked and disappeared, reappearing in a random clearing in the forest.

"Sasuke?" I called out, raising my voice. Daichi flapped his wings and flew off, probably to find some food.

"Sasuke, come out, we have to go soon." I nearly shrieked in surprise when Sasuke jumped out from behind me.

"Some ninja you are," He scoffed, "Getting surprised so easily." I pouted and turned away from him, keeping my back facing him as he tried to get me to look at his face.

"Akira, don't be like that I was only joking." I smirked as Sasuke shouted out loud when my clone jumped out from behind a tree. I was trying to be considerate but the laughter was too hard to control.

"Akira," He groaned, hitting me softly on the shoulder.

"It was payback," I laughed, "Some ninja you are," I mimicked him, "Getting fooled so easily."

We headed back just in time to see the others start heading off, thankfully, I had packed our stuff the night before and was ready to go in thirty seconds.

"We're off!" Naruto and I yelled loudly as we pranced ahead of everyone. I stopped when I felt Naruto stop and turned to look at him. Inari was in front of him and they were trying their best not to cry.

"It's okay to cry, Naruto-niichan," Inari stated, sniffing slightly.

"No, I am a ninja, I won't cry," Naruto stated, sniffing louder before adding, "But you can cry, its fine."

I smiled at their antics and turned back to my team. Sasuke was scowling, like usual. I walked over to him and tapped his nose.

"What's wrong?" I questioned, truly curious.

"Nothing," He muttered, turning away from me and walking after Kakashi. Sakura glared at me once before running after him.

"So childish." I shook my head and followed them, waving to Inari and dragging Naruto by the ear.


	11. Chapter 10 - If You Love Me

Chapter 10 – If You Love Me: You'll Stand By Me

**IT'S THE DOUBLE DIGITS ALREADY!**

**I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.**

_Recap:_

"_It's okay to cry, Naruto-niichan," Inari stated, sniffing slightly._

"_No, I am a ninja, I won't cry," Naruto stated, sniffing louder before adding, "But you can cry, its fine."_

_I smiled at their antics and turned back to my team. Sasuke was scowling, like usual. I walked over to him and tapped his nose._

"_What's wrong?" I questioned, truly curious._

"_Nothing," He muttered, turning away from me and walking after Kakashi. Sakura glared at me once before running after him._

"_So childish." I shook my head and followed them, waving to Inari and dragging Naruto by the ear._

* * *

"I'm different too; does that mean you are going to send Anbu after me?" Sasuke asked, completely enraged at Kakashi.

I don't know how this happened. As soon as team 7 got home, I headed straight for my apartment and fell asleep. The next thing I knew, I had Anbu dragging me out of my bed and found myself in front of Ibiki Morino, renowned information gatherer.

I think this was what happened; Kakashi got suspicious about my crow, he told Hokage, Hokage tells him to get Ibiki to interrogate me, Anbu drag me to him.

"What's going on?" I asked as they dragged me out of my bed and to the interrogation room.

"We have orders to escort you to the interrogation room." I flinched at his cold tone.

As we walked to Ibiki, I contemplated and sorted my thoughts. How was I going to explain Daichi without raising suspicion?

By the time we reached the door of the interrogation room, I was sweating a puddle; Ibiki was renowned for getting information from all of his patients.

"Is Ibiki…?" I trailed off and looked to my feet as I saw the Hokage approaching, he had a stern look on his face and I was disappointed in myself for upsetting him.

"Akira." His tone was harsh and sad, I felt myself sink towards the ground, still not daring to look at his eyes.

"Hokage-Sama, I swear, I will not betray this village! I'm not giving out any information! Please." I begged him, lifting my head up and staring hard at him.

"I'm sorry." His words cut deep, it wasn't the fact that he apologised, it was the fact that he truly meant it, he really was sorry.

"Please! You don't know, there are still lots of things I can tell you, I swear! Just because I'm different doesn't mean I'll betray you, please believe me. Don't make me go in there… Please." My voice broke and I sunk down to the ground.

Pity.

What a horrible feeling. There was so much pity and sympathy in this corridor; it was suffocating me. These people didn't understand; I can't have someone look into my head! There are horrible memories I don't want to be revealed.

"Ibiki?" I shuddered as the door opened and a man stepped out. His face was scarred, not ugly, only scarred.

"Please…" I whimpered; shaking my head violently as the Anbu pushed me into the small room. Ibiki forced a smile and told me to sit. I sat down on the seat and he came up to me.

"I'm just going to look into your memories a bit, relax." His voice was professional and emotionless; it was scary.

I struggled a bit but it was useless, he was already inside my head, probing through my thoughts.

_Get out, get out get out! _I screamed; he wasn't welcome here, he needed to get out. Sounds of screams resounded in the air and beatings followed soon afterward.

"Useless brat, would someone just kill you already? You're nothing but a nuisance!" I screamed and clutched my head, willing Ibiki to stop the memory flow.

_STOP IT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!_

_**ITACHI!**_

I fling Ibiki off of me and stormed out of the room, I didn't give a crap anymore, they entered my personal space, it was clear I wasn't welcome here any longer.

"Out of my way, get away!" I stormed through the Anbu and sped up my pace as they started to follow me. I left through the door and passed the Academy. Naruto was eating at Ichiraku's but I didn't give a damn.

"Fuck this." I took off sprinting; leaving a trail of dust behind me. If they didn't want me, I would disappear.

**Back with Sasuke**

"How could you? You knew Akira had a bad past. You KNEW Akira would never betray the village. For kami sake she gave you precious information!" I was beyond pissed, how dare Kakashi do this to Akira? She was a valuable friend and asset, now she was gone.

"I had a bad past too. I'm connected to Itachi too. Are you going to interrogate me as well? What if Itachi had been contacting me?" I threw word after word out of my mouth, hoping to knock some sense into Kakashi.

He smiled sadly at me and patted my head, "We all know you had a good connection with her, Sasuke, but you have to think for the safety of the village first. A ninja's role is to protect his village."

I growled at him and stalked off, looking for the Hokage. I didn't care if I was disrespecting him; he needed to know that Akira was on OUR side. Only when the leaf village betrays her, will she return the favour.

**Akira**

I continued running, jumping from the trees and stopping occasionally. I was out of the Konoha border before I knew it and headed to an unknown destination.

The scenery changed and the air become slightly denser, what was going on? I had been blindly moving for the past few hours and it was near dark now.

**The village hidden in the Sky**, I frowned; there was a village with that name?

"Excuse me? Anybody here? Hello?" I called out, wincing as a throaty sound escaped from my mouth. This place seemed deserted, why would there be a village here?

"Miss, may I ask what you are doing here?" I whirled around to face a boy around my age; everything about him was light and airy; light blonde hair and faded grey eyes that shone in the evening light, baby blue shirt and white training pants.

"Oh, I was just wandering around and when I finally noticed my surroundings; I was here." I frowned softly and scratched the back of my head.

"Ahaha," he laughed, a sound that reminded me of bells, "That often happens to those who are looking for peace of mind. They always end up here somehow." I scrunched my eyebrows, I didn't understand.

"I mean that those who end up in the Sky village are usually those who have something troubling going on." My eyes widened as the boy read my thoughts.

"Kazuki Ichiro at your service, ma'am." He bowed down to me and smiled. I couldn't but smile back at him; it was infectious.

"Miyuki Akira, also at your service, sir." I bowed mockingly at him and his smile widened. I grinned playfully at him before sobering.

"If this is the Sky village, where are the houses and people?" He smiled knowing at me; how many times a minute does this guy smile?

"Up." He pointed to the sky before grabbing my hand and flying.

"Whoa… Way cool! You can fly?" I exclaimed in excitement, this was something I so wanted to learn.

"Yeah, most people in our village can fly, or at least levitate." I shook my head in amazement before clutching his hand tighter.

"Can you teach me?" He smiled at me and winked.

"Of course, Miyuki-San." I cringed at my last name but didn't comment on it, he didn't know and besides, I wanted to start something different here.

We landed in front of a gate and I let go of his hand to go peer down to the ground. The drop was far.

"If I fell…" I murmured quietly, not realising that Ichiro had already opened the gates and was motioning for me to follow him.

"Coming!" I called and glanced one last time at the ground, was this going to be the last time I set foot on ground? I ran over to Ichiro and grinned.

"So, when do we start training?"

It had been a while since I first stepped foot into the Sky village. Things had been different then, I had known nothing of this world above the ground and what I thought was a perfect battle technique was actually flawed; a lot.

"Akira, you coming?" I turned and smiled at Juno one of my sparring partners. He grabbed onto my arm and dragged me over to the sword arena. I quickly grabbed my draconian blade and spun to deflect his head swing.

"Pretty good, your reflexes have quickened." I grinned and swung at his feet, planting the sword onto the ground and swinging my feet up to kick him before bring my blade back over my head.

Juno dodged my moves and slashed at my chest, forcing me backward into a defensive stance. We charged at each other and our swords clashed in multiple places, I flung back and clutched my stomach, a line of blood forming.

As the dust cleared I smirked to see that Juno had many small slashes on his arms and legs.

"Okay, you win, and you pass too." I smiled at him but was confused.

"Passed?" Juno nodded his head and pointed at some of the people that had been watching our spar. I gasped and placed a hand on my mouth. The village elder was there and he was applauding me.

"Hanjo-sama!" I exclaimed, sheathing my blade and bowing down to him, keeping my head low as he approached me.

"Akira, it has been a while since you were welcomed into our village and since then your great skills have improved immensely. Although you are young and have much to learn, I think Juno has taught you all that he knows. It is time for you to move on to a different sensei."

Hanjo clapped and three figures stepped out from the shadows. All three were male and clad in a special uniform.

"This is Morie Tsuna," He pointed to the first man and he bowed to me. "This is Arashi Kenji." Said man bowed as well, smiling at me playfully. "And last but not least, our head chief, Furo Renge." He bowed down and I nodded my head to all of them, respect shining in my eyes.

"Akira, you may choose one of these excellent men to train you, after you have finished your training, you will have been taught everything we could ever have taught you. The Chuunin exams are soon and if you are ready by then, you may leave in time for that." I bowed to the elder and to the three men, thinking hard on my decision.

"I would love to have all of you but I know I must make a decision." I weighed on each man, pulling out their traits and advantages and comparing to mine. I did not want to improve the skills that I already had a good hold on and instead would like to work on some of my bad traits.

"If I may, I would like my sensei to be Morie Tsuna." Said man stepped forward and bowed.

"It will be a pleasure to teach you, Akira-san." I smiled widely at him and offered him my blade, a custom tradition at the Sky village. A sensei must inspect a student's blade and it's durability before teaching. Much can be said from the well-being of one's weapon.

He nodded in satisfaction and handed me back my sword, turning to face the elder.

"Hanjo-sama," He lowered to one knee, "I will have finished teaching Akira before the Chuunin exams by two weeks, if I may, I ask to take Akira to the Waterfalls and have a ten day training with her in that time." The elder seemed to understand Tsuna's intentions and nodded, dismissing him with a wave of a hand.

He turned to me and smiled, "Let's get started." My eyes widened as I started to protest, my muscles and legs aching from today.

"Already?!"

* * *

**I am SO sorry for the long wait, it's just, I live in Australia and it's summer holidays right now and some REALLY big things came up. Along with that, I have been having some writer's block and ideas haven't been flowing out as easily as they were before. I'll admit this chapter is extremely short and not all that essential to the storyline. There hasn't been much Itachi and Sasuke action either so I apologise for that. Itachi WILL be back in the next chapter and Akira will learn some things that are important for the story. Thank-you so much for sticking with me till now and I apologise once again for the long wait.**


	12. Chapter 11 - If You Love Me

Chapter 11 – If You Love Me: You'll Train with Me

I do not own anything except for my own OC Akira and parts of the story that aren't in the Naruto Manga and Anime.

_Recap:_

"_It will be a pleasure to teach you, Akira-san." I smiled widely at him and offered him my blade, a custom tradition at the Sky village. A sensei must inspect a student's blade and it's durability before teaching. Much can be said from the well-being of one's weapon._

_He nodded in satisfaction and handed me back my sword, turning to face the elder._

"_Hanjo-sama," He lowered to one knee, "I will have finished teaching Akira before the Chuunin exams by two weeks, if I may, I ask to take Akira to the Waterfalls and have a ten day training with her in that time." The elder seemed to understand Tsuna's intentions and nodded, dismissing him with a wave of a hand._

_He turned to me and smiled, "Let's get started." My eyes widened as I started to protest, my muscles and legs aching from today._

"_Already?!"_

* * *

"Pay attention, Akira. This is important and if you do not listen to me- Akira!" I stuck my tongue out at Tsuna before dashing for the trees, leaping through the air with agility my feet had not known before I came to this village.

"Miyuki Akira, you get you behind back here right this instant." I kept running forward, pushing my feet faster as I heard his thundering steps behind me. I reached an opening and my eyes were blinded for a second, the sun was high in the sky and not a cloud could be seen.

My blade flashed once and I whipped around, whirling the sword behind me. The blade caught Tsuna on his left leg as he tried to swing his sword down on my head. Weaving and dodging through all of his attacks I slammed my blade into the ground and used it as a lever to push myself up and kick Tsuna in the gut.

"Ah!" As we both landed, I used the momentum to drag the sword out of the ground and slammed it next to my trainer's head. He huffed twice and smiled at me, his brown eyes twinkling in pride.

"You might want to get off, Akira." The man below me tried to shuffle from my grasp but I held him down with my legs, clutching my blade and panting loudly.

"Nah, I think I'm comfortable right here. And I need a second to catch my breath." Tsuna raised an eyebrow at me before flipping me off of him and grabbing my sword.

"You shouldn't drop your guard so easily, Miyuki Akira." I snatched the blade from his hands and glared at him.

"Just because I gave you permission to touch my blade once does not mean you are allowed to just grab it." I narrowed my eyes playfully and turned my back, heading back to the village.

"Tsuna!"

"Yes, Akira?"

"You owe me ramen, remember?" The man groaned and started to follow me, grumbling about how my stomach and appetite could probably devour the world and still be starved.

"Man, you sound just like Kaka-Sensei."

"Hm?" I shook my head and laughed. Yup, he definitely reminded me of Kakashi Hatake; the copy-cat, silver haired, perverted teacher of mine.

We ran to the ramen stall and sat down, Tsuna waving a hand to the owner of the shop. "Kiro? Ah, my man, do you think you could have us two bowls of your special ramen?"

"Tsuna! Good to see you, old mate." Tsuna looked offended but laughed and swiped Kiro on the head.

"On the house." Kiro said as he handed us the ramen. My mouth watered at the sight, wondering how on earth ramen could look better than it tastes.

"Akira, eat, you are going to need it."

"Hm?" I looked up at Tsuna suspiciously. What was going to happen? I continued eating my food, looking up every once in a while and running my hand past my blade.

"Just as I finished slurping the soup, which was delicious, a loud yell could be heard and three Anbu dressed in black jumped me. I swung my elbow back and unsheathed my sword. Leading them out of the store I turned back to face them, my Draconian blade held up dangerously.

"Why is it; that trouble has to always show up when you are having a good time?" I sighed and wiped my mouth on my sleeve before charging at the first Anbu. I swung at his legs and flipped the blade in time, knocking him over but not cutting him.

"Why you little…" The man trailed off as I swung at his shoulder, tearing fabric from his shirt. I repeatedly twisted and swung; a dance I had learnt in the time of my partnership with my blade.

"Flip and thrust, swipe and dodge, twist and hit." It was like a mantra flowing through my head and soon, all the Anbu were on the ground groaning in exhaustion and pain.

"That's not fair, I should be the one tired. I bet none of you stupid men had six hours of training before this, did you?" I used my blade to poke one of the men lightly.

There was a clapping sound and I whirled around to find Tsuna and Hanjo, standing there applauding me. "Uh… What's going on?"

"My dear child, you have passed the test, I suggest you go and get packing now. It is time for your return to Konoha. But first; a trip with Tsuna to sharpen certain skills." I bowed to the elder, still a little bit overwhelmed by all that had just happened.

"I- you- Anbu- WAHHH?!" I screamed as one of the Anbu's arm lifted up and they stood. His helmet was taken off and there stood Renge, one of Tsuna's mates and a man previously presented to me as a candidate for my trainer.

"This was a stupid test." I stated grimly, aware at how foolish I had been, thinking that it was a real attack. "What's the matter with you guys, I thought it was real; I could have killed you!"

Tsuna shook his head and Renge laid a hand on my shoulder. "You say that, Akira, and yet you still used the blunt side of your sword."

I lowered my head and looked to the ground; Renge was right. IF it HAD been a real attack, I would still have been too nice to actually murder someone.

"Akira. To be strong and to have courage is not knowing when to take a life," Hanjo looked me in the eye and smiled, "But when to spare one."

(A/N: **Who can guess what movie/book I referenced that from?**)

I smiled up at him and bowed my head. There were certain things in life that just made you forget about your worries and Hanjo's smile was one of them.

* * *

"Akira! Hurry your ass up and get down here!" I winced as Tsuna yelled out from below my apartment. I was just finishing packing up my stuff when he arrived.

"Have you got everything?" Juno looked sadly at me, smiling at how little I needed to bring.

"Akira." I turned to face Ichiro as he slung an arm over Juno. "We're going to miss you, you know." I sniffed loudly and whirled away from them, wishing that this wouldn't be so emotional.

"You have to come visit me, alright?" I made them promise before squeezing them both in a tight hug.

"We'll definitely visit, Akira, count on us." Juno raised two thumbs and I laughed quietly at how much he looked like Naruto just then.

"Get better, get stronger." We all said quietly before I walked out the door, not looking back.

"Come on, Akira. We need to get to the destination before sunset." It was barely 2 in the afternoon and Tsuna was already acting grumpy.

"Okay, okay, let's go." I sprinted in front of him and through the gates as they opened. As I reached the tip of the cloud that this village stood on, I jumped and relished at the feeling of flying. Tsuna soon caught up with me and he took the lead.

"If you can't keep up with me Akira, I'll ditch you." I rolled my eyes at him and sped up, keeping pace with him but slow enough to look around.

I ducked as some birds flew my way and twisted in the air before rocketing up and spiralling around Tsuna.

"Akira." Tsuna laughed and shook his head before speeding up again. I flew after him, not wanting to get lost. There were enough clouds in the sky to lose sight of my sensei. WE flew for quite some time before Tsuna slowly started to descend.

"We here?" I asked him, already knowing the answer.

"If we weren't here, why would I be landing?"

"Maybe you got tired." Tsuna shot me an agitated look and I flashed him a grin.

"Akira." I straightened myself before landing beside him, knowing that this was his serious tone. "We're meeting someone, I want you to promise not to speak of this or else I will not be allowed for you to train with him.

"Now now, we both now that I can trust Aki-Chan here." I whipped around and held up a knife to the intruder's neck.

"ITACH?!" I flung back and dragged Tsuna with me. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

"Is that the way to greet an old friend, Aki-Chan?" I backed away from him and looked down to my feet.

"Sorry, Ita-kun, I was just surprised is all." Tsuna was looking back and forth between the two of us, trying to determine what our relationship with each other was.

"You guys know each other?" His face was sceptic and I held myself from laughing. "Itachi, why did you not inform me of this?" Said person shrugged before turning and walking into the forest.

"Come, we must find shelter for the night." I skipped after my old sensei, completely ignoring the baffled look on Tsuna's face.

"Tsuna knows?" I sat next to Itachi and curled my legs up, hugging my knees.

"Hn."

"And he is willing to keep your secret?"

"Hn."

"Alright." I leaned against Itachi, feeling safe once more. Ever since Daichi had flown off, I missed him a lot.

"Aki-Chan…" he wrapped an arm around me and I leaned more into him.

"Do the Akatsuki…?" Itachi shook his head and I smiled, lying down in his lap. He leaned against the tree as a played with strands of his hair.

"Itachi! Akira! I found some more wood for the fi-" Tsuna was cut off as he saw the two of us sleeping.

"And he never told me…" Tsuna shook his head and I opened an eye.

"Is something the matter, Tsuna?" He shook his head and turned his back. I closed my eye again, "Get some sleep, Itachi says we will be starting at first light tomorrow."

Tsuna didn't reply but I didn't care. This was perfect for me, I was reunited with whom I am dedicated to.

"I missed you, Ita-kun…" I turned my head in his lap and fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be interesting, to say the least.

"Again!" I closed my eyes as I tried to penetrate Itachi's mental shield. Reaching out with my chakra, I poked and prodded, trying to find his weak spot.

"There is none…" I gasped quietly. Of course, this was Uchiha Itachi, what was I thinking?

"Akira, concentrate!" I meekly lowered my head and tried again. This was harder than I thought. I felt Itachi attacking back and narrowed my eyes. Thank god Tsuna had already finished training me.

"You're not going to get through!" I shattered his shield with a force I had no control of and watched as his eyes blanked and he staggered back. I realised the attack and watched as he glared up at me.

"Ita-kun?"

"You idiot, Akira!" I winced; it had been long since he called me by my name. "I told you to never let up your genjutsu until the opponent is down! I could have killed you just then."

"I need to get something done, I'll leave you two alone, okay?" We paid no attention to Tsuna as he disappeared.

"But you would not have hurt me, Ita-Kun." I whispered quietly, trying to catch his eyes.

I looked into his red orbs and felt myself pulled into the genjutsu. "You will not harm me, Itachi, for I know you to have no courage to do so." Itachi glared at me before stalking forward. Only then did I realise I had been tied up to a tree.

"No, I would not, but there are others who would." He caressed my cheek softly and I leaned into his touch.

"Itachi…"

"What is your relationship with my brother, Akira?" I flinched and edged away, trying to figure out how to cut my bonds. My eyes widened as I conjured up a knife. Quietly attacking the rope, I moved my eyes away from Itachi's.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Itachi."

"Akira." I glared up at him and ripped the ropes. He grabbed my shoulders and slammed my onto the tree behind me.

"Release." I disrupted the genjutsu and found myself and Itachi in the exact same position in real life.

"Get your hands off me, Itachi."

"Aki-Chan…" He leaned closer and my eyes widened. I tried to back away but the tree held me in place.

"Itachi." I whimpered, squirming away from him. He let go of me and watched me back away from him with sad eyes.

"We are not so close anymore, Aki-Chan." I glanced up at him as he stared down at me with his normal black orbs.

"No, Itachi, it is not that…" He walked away from me and I grabbed onto his hand.

"Akira, let go of m-"

* * *

**Cliffhanger! What do you guys think Akira did, it should be pretty obvious, right? Review please, I am finding it really hard to write at this moment so constructive criticism is hugely appreciated.**


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